"There's a murder-for-hire charge," said the judge, who still granted a delay.
by Joe Mullin
by Joe Mullin
SAN FRANCISCO—Ross Ulbricht, the 29-year-old alleged to have run the Silk Road online drug marketplace, wants a little more time.
Ulbricht appeared in a federal courtroom this morning, wearing a red jumpsuit reading "XXL—Alameda County Jail" and what appeared to be a green T-shirt underneath. His case was called first, and he shuffled with small steps into court; he was shackled at the feet but his hands were free. He looked every part the San Francisco hipster you might see in any one of a hundred local coffee shops, clean-shaven and with mildly shaggy hair.
On Wednesday, federal authorities filed a 32-page complaint against Ulbricht, accusing him of narcotics trafficking and money laundering, as well as soliciting the murder of another Silk Road user. Authorities said that Ulbricht was the mastermind behind the infamous Silk Road marketplace, which was also shut down on Wednesday, and its Tor-enabled domain name was seized.
Today's procedure was a detention hearing, and Ulbricht was called first. His lawyer, federal public defender Brandon LeBlanc, asked the magistrate judge overseeing the case for more time. "We want to put together the best possible bail proposal for the court," said LeBlanc. He added that his office will be seeking some additional discovery from the prosecution.
"There's no entitlement to pre-detention-hearing discovery," countered the prosecutor arguing at the hearing, Randall Luskey. "The government is not obligated to get discovery from SDNY (Southern District of New York)."
"I don't know what you're going to accomplish in the next several days," Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero told LeBlanc.
There is a "risk of flight danger," noted the prosecutor.
"What does the indictment in Maryland do here?" asked Spero. "There's a murder-for-hire charge."
The prosecution made it clear they're eager to transfer the defendant to New York. Spero, skeptical of what LeBlanc could put together in a few days, surprisingly granted the extension.
Ulbricht is scheduled to appear again at 9am on Wednesday October 9.
Outside court, a gaggle of about a dozen reporters waited for the lawyers in the case. LeBlanc came out first and said little.
"There are a lot of charges here," he said. "We deny all charges. That's the end of the discussion."
Luskey said nothing at all, referring all inquiries to the US Attorney's office.
Mike Gogulski, a man based in Slovakia has already started a "Free Ross" campaign, and claims to be in touch with Ulbricht's family. (Gogulski's own website details his anarchist/libertarian leanings, which could indicate a political kinship with a site like the Silk Road, which sold all kinds of illegal drugs.)
In a Friday blog post, Gogulski writes that Ulbricht's parents "say that there is no chance he ever ordered a murder-for-hire and that they have legally-admissible evidence to prove it."
Courtesy: arstechnica 
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