Millionaire real estate heir Robert Durst was indicted Wednesday on the two weapons charges that have kept him in New Orleans even though his lawyers say he wants to go to Los Angeles as soon as possible to face a murder charge there. A grand jury charged Durst with possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of both a firearm and an illegal drug: 5 ounces of marijuana, said Assistant District Attorney Chris Bowman, spokesman for the district attorney. Durst's attorneys could not be immediately reached for comment. Millionaire real estate heir Robert Durst was indicted Wednesday on the two weapons charges that have kept him in New Orleans even though his lawyers say he wants to go to Los Angeles as soon as possible to face a murder charge there (file photo) His arrest related to those charges has kept Durst from being extradited to Los Angeles, where he's charged in the December 2000 death of longtime friend Susan Berman. He has waived extradition in that case. Until his indictment Wednesday, Durst had been arrested but not formally charged in connection with the .38-caliber revolver authorities say was found in his hotel room. According to court testimony, an FBI agent recognized Durst in a New Orleans hotel March 14 and escorted him to his hotel room. Durst was arrested early March 15 on the Los Angeles warrant and arrested separately on the weapons charges the next day. It was the day before the final HBO episode aired of The Jinx: The Life And Deaths Of Robert Durst. A hearing in the New Orleans case had been scheduled for Thursday before a magistrate. Durst's attorneys maintain that the arrest on weapons charges was illegal, partly because FBI agents searched Durst's hotel room without a search warrant and before his arrest. The indictment puts the case before a Criminal District Court judge, rather than the magistrate. Durst turns 72 Sunday. Long a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Kathleen Durst, in 1982 in New York, Durst was acquitted in the dismemberment killing of his neighbor in Texas in 2003. The real estate heir was temporarily placed on suicide watch soon after his arrest. His lawyers claim his Asperger's Syndrome led him to erroneously trust the HBO producers, who screened semi-confessional interviews that will now be used against him in trial. Durst, who prosecutors have said is worth up to $100 million, has long been estranged from his powerful family, which has major New York real estate holdings. He has been held without bail at a facility for mentally ill inmates about 70 miles (110 km) from New Orleans, with local authorities having labeled him a suicide risk.
Robert Durst was indicted Wednesday on the two weapons charges that have kept him in New Orleans.
Gand jury charged Durst with possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of both a firearm and an illegal drug: 5 ounces of marijuana.
Arrest related to those charges has kept Durst from being extradited to Los Angeles, where he's charged in 2000 death of friend Susan Berman.