Louisville GOP mayor candidate says attempted murder suspect Quintez Brown researched him
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Quintez Brown, who is charged with the attempted murder of Democrat mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg, also conducted internet research on Republican candidate Bill Dieruf, the Jeffersontown mayor.
Dieruf’s campaign disclosed that information in a news release Friday.
"I have been aware that Quintez Brown had searched my name on his computer since the FBI reviewed his Internet search history following the February incident," the campaign statement said.
"Jeffersontown Police Chief Rick Sanders and I met with FBI agents then regarding what they found and were told the information was confidential because of the ongoing investigation."
Related: Prosecutors ask judge to keep Quintez Brown in jail, using photos from his arrest
Federal prosecutors had previously disclosed that Brown searched for a candidate besides Greenberg but didn’t disclose his identity.
“As mayor for the past 11 years, I’m sure my name has been Googled many times for various reasons,” Dieruf said in the statement. “It doesn’t change my daily life or the way I run the city.”
In another development Friday, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton said he expects to decide by May 5 whether to order Brown to be detained pending trial.
Magistrate Judge Colin Lindsay had ordered him released to home incarceration but, at the government's request, stayed his order pending Beaton's review.
Federal prosecutors have said Brown should be held because he is dangerous.
He is charged in federal court with interfering with a federally protected right and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence by shooting at and attempting to kill a candidate for elective office.
Both charges are punishable by up to life in prison.
He also was charged in state court with attempted murder and wanton endangerment for shooting into Greenberg’s campaign headquarters on Valentine’s Day. No one was injured, but a bullet punched a hole in Greenberg’s sweater.
Federal prosecutors have pointed to evidence they say shows Brown planned the crime in advanced, practiced shooting at a range and went to Greenberg’s home armed with a gun.
Brown’s lawyers contend he is mentally ill and should not be in custody. He has pleaded not guilty to both the state and federal charges.
Brown, 22, is an activist and former University of Louisville student who wrote editorials for The Courier Journal.
Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; awolfson@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @adwolfson.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville GOP mayor candidate says Quintez Brown researched him
