Trial date set for former Xe worker charged in Kabul shooting

NORFOLK

A federal magistrate judge today set a Sept. 14 trial date for a former Xe worker charged in the shooting deaths of two Afghans in a case that could carry the death penalty. Chris Drotleff pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Norfolk.

The 29-year-old Virginia Beach man has been in jail without bond since his arrest earlier this month on charges of killing two Afghan civilians during a traffic incident in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. Justin Cannon, a second security worker with Drotleff that day last May, remains in Texas awaiting extradition to face the same charges.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Tommy E. Miller set an April 19 status hearing before U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar, who will try the case.

The Department of Justice has not yet announced whether it will seek the death penalty against the two men. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan M. Salsbury acknowledged that if the attorney general authorizes the death penalty, the trial would likely be rescheduled to a later date.

Drotleff, who had his hair shorn since his last court appearance, said little during his brief court appearance, answering the judge with a "Yes, sir" when asked if he understood the charges. Asked for his plea, Drotleff blurted, "Not guilty" before Miller had finished the question.

Drotleff and Cannon are charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons charges. They have said they were acting in self-defense when they opened fire on a car that caused an accident in front of their vehicle at a Kabul intersection and then sped toward them.

The were employed by a subsidiary of the security firm Xe., the Moyock, N.C.-based company formerly called Blackwater.