Officials search near David Laffer's home

Officials opened storm drains Tuesday near the home of the unemployed Army veteran accused in the Medford pharmacy fatal shooting and robbery, searching for thousands of painkillers.

Wearing gloves and armed with shovels, crime scene technicians sifted through storm drain detritus on the Medford block where David Laffer and his wife were arrested in a dramatic morning raid one week ago.

Suffolk police Det. Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky said the canvass in sewers along Pitchpine Place was for evidence of 10,000 hydrocodone pills, containers or packaging.

"Hopefully, through the bottles, we would be able to put them at the scene of Haven [Drugs] pharmacy," he said.

Laffer, who authorities have said was a drug user, is accused of killing four people June 19 inside the storefront business before loading a backpack with painkillers.

Three days later, police raided the house Laffer, 33, shared with his wife, Melinda Brady, 29, who was also charged in connection with the crime.

Tuesday, a Suffolk assistant district attorney said during a brief hearing in a Central Islip courtroom that a grand jury had returned an indictment.

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Acting Supreme Court Justice James C. Hudson is to unseal the charges in a Riverhead court Thursday, said Laffer's attorney, Mary Elizabeth Abbate of North Babylon.

Abbate said she expects Laffer to be formally charged this week with the four deaths. He also will face robbery and weapons charges. The office of Brady's attorney declined to comment Tuesday.

Brady, now charged with felony robbery, will likely face upgraded charges at a later date, officials said. Through the Legal Aid attorney, Brady waived her right to have officials formally charge her by Tuesday's deadline.

Police allege she helped plan the crime and drove Laffer to and from the pharmacy. Her next court date is July 15.

Ray Malone, a relative of pharmacy victim Jaime Taccetta, attended the hearing and said some family members hoped federal prosecutors would take over the case so Laffer could be considered for the death penalty.

A federal official briefed on the case said it is highly unlikely that federal authorities will intervene. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District declined to comment.

Asked about her client's physical and mental state -- Laffer is in protective custody at the Riverhead jail -- Abbate described him as overwhelmed. Abbate said Laffer could be harmed by other inmates.

"There is a lot of feeling out there, and I don't think the jail is immune to that feeling," she said.

Laffer is being held without bail. Brady is being held on $750,000 cash bail or $1.5-million bond.