Judge sets October trial date for accused New York City bomber

Source: Reuters

A U.S. judge on Friday set an October trial date for a man accused of detonating a bomb that injured 30 people in New York City, delaying the scheduled start about six months after defense lawyers argued they needed more time to prepare their case.

Court-appointed lawyers for Ahmad Khan Rahimi, 29, an Afghan-born U.S. citizen, had complained that U.S. District Judge Richard Bermand and prosecutors were pushing for too prompt a start for a case that could result in life in prison.

U.S. investigators have portrayed Rahimi as a jihadist who bought bomb components on eBay and kept a journal expressing outrage at the U.S. "slaughter" of mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Palestine.

The judge initially set a March trial start, which would have been six months after the Sept. 17 blast in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea that officials said sent a 100-pound (45-kg) garbage dumpster flying 120 feet (36 meters) and caused damage across a 650-foot (200-meter) crime scene.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-attacks-new-york-idUSKBN15Q00V