He's a looker, lol.A judge today set a Dec. 8 trial date for Drew Peterson on a felony weapons charge, and Peterson’s attorneys said they might seek to move the proceeding out of Will County.
The lawyers said the former Bolingbrook cop might have difficulty getting a fair trial on the gun charge in Will County because of the intense news coverage that’s been focused on him since the October 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife and the reopening of the police investigation into the 2004 death of his third wife.
"Given the amount of media attention, it’s going to be very difficult to find jurors who don’t know anything about Drew Peterson," Peterson attorney Andrew Abood said after a court hearing in Joliet.
Peterson’s lawyers said they haven’t decided yet whether to ask Judge Richard Schoenstedt to move the trial and probably won’t until after a Sept. 18 hearing on what evidence will be presented during the weapons trial, which attorneys said could take up to two weeks.
A large portion of that time could be consumed in selecting jurors who haven’t formed an opinion about Peterson, Abood and co-counsel Joel Brodsky said.
"There’s a public opinion about Drew that is slanted in a certain direction," Abood said.
The defense lawyers also said they’re concerned that information made public about the Oct. 28 disappearance of Stacy Peterson and the 2004 drowning death of Kathleen Savio could influence jurors hearing the weapons case.
"We hope it will be just about the gun charge," Brodsky said. "If it is, we’re confident of victory."
Peterson, 54, was charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon earlier this year, accused of owning an illegally modified assault rifle. Police initially seized the weapon during a November search of Peterson’s Bolingbrook home a few days after Stacy Peterson vanished.
Peterson was entitled to own the weapon because he used it for his police duties, Brodsky and Abood have argued.
Peterson left today’s hearing without comment.
Prosecutors declined to say if they would oppose a request to shift the weapons trial out of Will County, but said Peterson and his attorneys helped stoke the extensive media attention. “This office is not responsible for Mr. Peterson‚s notoriety,” said Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for Will County State‚s Attorney James Glasgow. “The ability to limit his exposure to the media lies with his attorneys.”
Asked where defense attorneys might seek to have the gun trial moved to find jurors unfamiliar with the case, Brodsky chuckled, then replied: "Maybe China."
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well maybe if there client Drew Peterson did'nt write a book slamming everone but himself there would be a few people left in Will County to have on the jury.
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