Accused shooter had list of other black churches

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- When he was arrested, the man accused of killing nine people during a Bible study in a Charleston church had a list of other area black churches in his car, law-enforcement officials testified Monday.

At the time, Dylann Roof told FBI agents he was too "worn out" from the June 2015 shootings at Emanuel AME Church to pursue further shootings.

But prosecutors trying him on dozens of federal charges presented evidence to jurors Roof, armed with a handgun, ammunition, clothing and other supplies, could have been planning more violence.

During about two hours on the stand, former State Law Enforcement Division agent Brittany Burke testified names of a handful of other churches and their addresses were found on a handwritten list in a backpack in Roof's car.

Also on papers found in Roof's car were phone numbers for the Statehouse complex in Columbia and the name of Denmark Vesey, one of the historic founders of Charleston's Emanuel AME.

Police tape surrounds the parking lot behind the AME Emanuel Church as FBI forensic experts work the crime scene June 19, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina.Stephen B. Morton ~ Associated Press

Vesey led a failed 1822 slave rebellion that drove the church underground. After the plot was reported, Vesey was hanged, and the church was burned.

The church was rebuilt, but in 1834, all black churches were banned, and members worshipped "underground" until 1865, when Emanuel AME Church was formally reorganized.

Burke is one of the state agents who processed evidence found in Roof's car when he was arrested after the shootings at the church known as Mother Emanuel. A jury began last week hearing testimony against Roof, 22, who is on trial on 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion.

Roof has formally entered a not guilty plea to all the charges. But his lawyers have said he's willing to change that to guilty if prosecutors agree not to seek the death penalty.

In his videotaped, two-hour confession played for jurors last week, Roof told FBI agents he left bullets in a magazine so he could kill himself after the slayings but changed his mind when he didn't see any police after the shooting.

"Oh no. I was worn out," Roof said, when an agent asked if he thought about killing more black people.

Evidence shown in photographs introduced Monday showed Roof essentially was living in his car. Recovered from his black sedan were items of clothing, food, beverages and an empty liquor bottle.

There also were travel brochures, a cellphone, laptop computer and a burned American flag.

Prosecutors also questioned a witness about Roof's gun purchase. Ronnie Thrailkill, manager of Shooter's Choice in West Columbia, testified that a typical background check was done on Roof when he came in to buy a Glock .45-calibur handgun in April 2015, two months before the shootings.

At that time, Thrailkill testified, Roof filled out the standard paperwork required by federal law and left to wait out a three-day waiting period to allow for background checks.

Roof had been arrested for drugs two months earlier, but Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon told The Associated Press after the shootings that a jail clerk had entered incorrect information that wasn't ever fixed in a state database.

When Roof sought to buy the gun, an FBI examiner spotted the arrest, but because of the error, called the wrong agency to get his record. Without the necessary documents, the purchase had to go through after three days, and Roof received the gun.

Victims' families are suing the FBI for negligence in allowing the sale. FBI Director James Comey has said Roof should have never been allowed to buy the gun and promised a full review.

Also Monday, state police officers testified about matching 70 bullets recovered at the shooting scene to a gun with Roof's fingerprints, found in his car. Prosecutors also introduced dozens of photographs from Roof's website, many of him posing at various Charleston area historic sites, including several plantations.

FBI Agent Tracy Sicks also read from Roof's online manifesto, much of it nearly identical to his journal introduced Friday. Both writings contain dubious, offensive racial claims about blacks and Jews, from stories about African-Americans enjoying slavery to segregation keeping white people from being dragged down. A former FBI examiner testified she found the manifesto on Roof's computer, saying files associated with it were last accessed hours before the shootings.

Federal prosecutors said they planned to call more tech experts and law officers Tuesday, adding shooting survivor Polly Sheppard would be their final witness.

Acknowledging Roof's role in the shootings, his defense team has been more focused on the penalty phase of the trial, which will determine whether Roof faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.