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Dale Hausner says he was just misunderstood. On Wednesday, the Serial Shooter suspect was spotted by several people in the courtroom extending his middle finger skyward, a gesture that some thought was intended for a number of victims who were sitting nearby.
The upward middle finger caused such a ruckus that Prosecutor Vince Imbordino asked Judge Roland Steinle to order Hausner’s hands restrained for the rest of his trial.
Now, in an letter exclusively obtained by HEAT CITY, Hausner tells the judge that the victims just “took it out of context.”
“I would NEVER disrespect a victim in your courtroom by using vulgar hand gestures,” wrote the Mesa man suspected of murdering eight people and committing nearly 80 other crimes. “I must have been scratching an itch, or resting my hand on my face.”
Hausner gave the letter to Steinle in court yesterday and the judge acknowledged receiving it. But the content of the letter was only made public today when it was included in Hausner’s case file through the clerk of the Maricopa County Superior Court.
Just after the commotion took place on Wednesday, Steinle warned Hausner to watch out. If he was caught making those kind of crude motion again, his hands would be restrained.