Alamo asks for trial delay
TEXARKANA (AP) — Jailed evangelist Tony Alamo, who is accused of bringing a 13-year-old girl across state lines for sex, has asked that his trial be delayed from its scheduled Nov. 19 start.
In court papers filed Tuesday, attorneys for Alamo, whose real name is Bernie Lazar Hoffman, said they needed more time to prepare. Prosecutors filed a motion saying they did not object to the request.
A federal magistrate last week ordered Alamo held pending trial after a four-hour hearing in which witnesses described beatings overseen by Alamo and said he’d taken young girls as his wives.
Trial date moved to Feb. 2, 2009
TEXARKANA, Ark. – A federal judge has moved a trial for jailed evangelist Tony Alamo to Feb. 2.
U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes issued an order Thursday moving the date of the trial, which was to begin Nov. 19. In his order, Barnes said that “the ends of justice served by the granting of the continuance outweighs the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.”
In court papers filed Tuesday, attorneys for Alamo said they needed more time to prepare. Prosecutors filed a motion saying they did not object to the request.