4 More Charges Added in Fusillade on White House

Federal prosecutors added four more charges Thursday to their previous 11-count indictment against Francisco Martin Duran, who is accused of spraying the White House with rifle fire on Oct. 29.

The new charges, alleging that Duran used a semiautomatic weapon in four instances of trying to impede federal officers who arrested him, add a total of 40 years to the maximum possible punishment that the 26-year-old Coloradan could receive if convicted.

Prosecutors said they included the additional weapons charges after lawyers determined they would strengthen previous charges of impeding and assaulting Secret Service officers who rushed to seize Duran on a sidewalk after tourists momentarily subdued the gunman.

Duran, who pleaded not guilty Thursday to the broadened indictment, already is facing a charge of attempting to assassinate President Clinton, who was inside the White House at the time of the shooting. That count alone carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. Duran’s trial has been set for March 16.

Meanwhile, federal sources said Thursday that they are considering the possibility that the assailant may have mistaken a gray-haired visitor who was inside the White House fence for the President when he opened fire. The visitor, Dennis Basso, a 40-year-old furrier from New York who had just completed a tour, was not injured. The assailant fired more than 25 rounds at the front of the Executive Mansion.