FBI Sniper Charged In Ruby Ridge Death -- Gunbattle In Idaho Also Leaves Separatist's Friend Facing Murder Trial

WASHINGTON - The FBI sniper who shot and killed Vicki Weaver, the wife of white separatist Randy Weaver, in the 1992 siege at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, was charged with manslaughter yesterday just before the five-year statute of limitations would have foreclosed criminal prosecution.

Idaho prosecutors charged a friend of the Weavers, Kevin Harris, with first-degree murder for killing U.S. Marshal William Degan in the gunfight that began the confrontation. Both Harris and Randy Weaver previously faced a murder trial in federal court in Degan's death and were found not guilty.

Boundary County Prosecutor Denise Woodbury said at a brief news conference in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, that she also had investigated the death of the Weavers' 14-year-old son, Sammy, who was killed by a shot in the back during the Aug. 21, 1992, gunfight, apparently as he was running away.

The teenager's death, Woodbury said, "has been determined to be a justifiable killing based on self-defense."

The FBI sniper, Lon Horiuchi, killed Vicki Weaver on Aug. 22, 1992, as she was standing in the doorway of the family cabin in northern Idaho holding her baby daughter. Horiuchi said he was aiming at Harris, who was fleeing into the house from the sniper's first shot, and did not see Vicki Weaver.

Horiuchi was charged with involuntary manslaughter by use of a firearm in a reckless, careless or negligent manner. Woodbury said he fired the fatal shot through the front door "without first determining whether any person other than his intended target was behind the door."

The accusation paralleled the findings of a special Justice Department task force, which concluded several years ago that Horiuchi "needlessly and unjustifiably endangered the persons he thought might be behind the door."

The task force recommended the case be considered for prosecution but was overruled by higher-ups. And again last week, a specially appointed U.S. attorney, Michael Stiles, found no basis for proceeding against the FBI sharpshooter under federal law.

Horiuchi could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine on yesterday's charges. Harris could face the death penalty.

FBI Director Louis Freeh said he was "deeply disappointed" by the decision to prosecute Horiuchi, adding that his job with the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team "involved making split-second decisions."

The FBI snipers were sent to Ruby Ridge following the gunfight involving U.S. marshals and were given unprecedented shoot-to-kill orders.

Freeh said Horiuchi, a West Point graduate and 13-year veteran of the FBI, would continue to have his legal expenses paid by the Justice Department. One of his attorneys, Adam Hoffinger, said they might try to have the case moved to federal court under a law permitting U.S. government employees to seek such a shift by claiming they were acting in the proper and necessary performance of their duties.

Two of the marshals who survived the gunfight, Larry Cooper and Arthur Roderick, said through their lawyer that the murder charge against Harris "validates" their account that Harris shot first and that he pursued the marshals when they retreated.

Woodbury said the marshals were chased by Harris and Sammy Weaver for more than 1,000 feet and that Degan was killed "at a location over 6,000 feet off the Weaver property."

The jurors at the first Ruby Ridge trial, however, were convinced that the government was the culprit. Most agreed that the marshals fired first, killing the Weavers' dog and provoking the gunfight. The acquittal on federal charges did not preclude prosecutors from filing state charges.

The three marshals involved in the gunfight were part of a surveillance operation that had spent more than a year spying on Weaver. They were dressed in jungle camouflage when Weaver, his 14-year-old son and Harris heard their dogs barking and took up the chase.