Headley set to plead guilty tomorrow

Yoshita Singh
Chicago, Mar 17 (PTI) Pakistani-American David Coleman
Headley, a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative charged with conspiring
in the Mumbai terror strike, will plead guilty before a US
court on Thursday, five months after he was arrested by the
FBI.
A court notice said a "change of plea" hearing has
been set Thursday scheduling David Coleman Headley before US
District Judge Harry Leinenweber. A routine status hearing was
scheduled for Headley on March 23.
"Yes, he (Headley) will plead guilty," John Thesis,
Headley's lawyer, told PTI when asked if his client is
changing his not-guilty plea.
"I expect that is what is going to happen on March
18," Theis said.
He, however, declined to comment on whether Headley
would be pleading guilty to all or some of the charges in the
12-count superseding indictment filed against him on January
14.
49-year-old Headley is charged with conspiring in the
Mumbai terror strike and planning attack on a Danish newspaper
which published a cartoon on Prophet Mohammad.
The son of a Pakistani diplomat and a Philadelphia
socialite, Headley had so far pleaded not guilty to the
charges and has remained in federal custody at the
Metropolitan Correctional Centre here since he was arrested in
October 2009.
Theis refused to give any details when asked whether a
plea deal has been worked out for Headley, who has been
"cooperating in the ongoing investigation".
If convicted, Headley faces maximum penalty of life
imprisonment or death. (MORE) PTI