5/07/09 – NWA: Prosecutors object to Alamo trial delay
NWANews
May 7, 2009
Prosecutors object to Alamo trial delay
Prosecutors Wednesday asked a federal judge to reject a request to delay evangelist Tony Alamo’s May 18 trial, saying court officials have already summoned more than 240 potential jurors to report for duty and have issued subpoenas to dozens of witnesses across the country.
Responding to the request for a postponement by Alamo’s defense attorneys, prosecutors also asked U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes to declare that case has “special importance” and should be expedited under a federal law designed to minimize stress on child victims.
Alamo, 74, is set for trial on charges that he transported five underage girls across state lines for sex over the past 15 years.
In his request for a delay, filed Tuesday, defense attorney Danny Davis of Beverly Hills, Calif., who took over the case from another attorney in March, said he needs more time to investigate the allegations. He also said he needs to have surgery on his knee, which he injured playing sports in February.
In her response, assistant U.S. attorney Kyra Jenner said prosecutors have been making arrangements for transportation and lodging for witnesses, some of whom “have gone to great lengths to distance themselves from” Alamo and were hard to find. Some witnesses are also considered “hostile” and may attempt to avoid being served with another subpoena if the trial is postponed, Jenner wrote.