7/10/09 – TG: Split decision on Alamo trial motions
Texarkana Gazette
July 10, 2009
By: Lynn LaRowe
Split decision on Alamo trial motions
A federal judge Friday denied a defense request to suppress evidence collected in a raid on Tony Alamo Christian Ministries in Fouke, Ark.
But Alamo’s lawyers may get some of what they wanted regarding what the jury may hear when Alamo’s trial starts Monday.
Lawyers for Alamo met with prosecutors and U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes in private.
According to a federal court filing, Barnes denied the defense’s request to suppress evidence collected during a raid of ministry property in Fouke, Ark., and denied a request for more specific information about how, when and where Alamo allegedly broke the law as well as four other motions.
The docket entry notes that a request to limit what jurors can hear during the trial, such as words like polygamy, cult and compound, has been granted in part and denied in part. The entry doesn’t note what was granted and what was denied.
“He’s going to reconsider all those motions, we believe, on Monday,” said Houston attorney Don Ervin, Alamo’s lead defense attorney. “So it’s kind of hard to say what he’s actually going to rule.”
Alamo is accused of bringing young girls across state lines for sex.
Jury selection begins Monday in a federal courtroom in downtown Texarkana.