More charges filed against suspects in Ariz. serial shootings

Friday, November 17th 2006, 9:20 pm

By: News On 6

PHOENIX (AP) Authorities filed more charges Friday against two men accused in a series of shootings that killed seven people in the Phoenix area, including five counts of murder against one of the men.

In addition to the murder charges, Dale S. Hausner, 33, was indicted on counts of drive-by shooting, attempted murder and aggravated assault. His suspected accomplice, Samuel John Dieteman, 31, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and drive-by shooting.

Both men were also charged with arson.

The latest charges include felony counts stemming from two drive-by shootings, on July 7 in Phoenix and July 11 in Glendale, which previously were not linked publicly to the case.

According to the indictment, Hausner or Dieteman, or both, have been charged in 40 cases, ranging from murder to arson. However, police said their investigation was continuing.

``We still have many cases that we're looking at,'' said Sgt. Andy Hill, a police spokesman.

They were previously charged with two counts of murder and 14 counts of attempted murder in 16 attacks, which occurred since May 2005. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.

Both have pleaded not guilty to the original charges.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said the latest charges deepened his intention to seek the death penalty for the pair.

``Mass murder is not a sport,'' Thomas said. ``It is instead a one-way ticket to death row.''

Hausner and Dieteman were arrested in August at a Mesa apartment complex where they lived.

A third man, Hausner's brother, Jeff, was arrested this month for investigation in the April 14 stabbing of a transient in Phoenix. He was later indicted on a charge of aggravated assault, prosecutors said. The attack had not been previously part of the ``Serial Shooter'' investigation but later was added.

Calls to Dale Hausner's lawyer, Ken Everett, and Dieteman's attorney, Maria Schaffer, weren't immediately returned Friday.

The shooter case is one of two serial predator cases that Phoenix police are investigating.

In September, police arrested a former construction worker and parolee, Mark Goudeau, in two sexual assaults linked to a string of attacks connected to the so-called Baseline Killer. He has pleaded not guilty to the sexual assaults of two sisters last year.

Police also are checking whether he is connected to 22 other attacks that left eight people dead.