Judge sets hearing in request to move officer's trial
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A judge has set a hearing on a request to move a Montgomery police officer's murder trial to another city.
Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin scheduled the hearing for June 13. Aaron Smith faces a murder charge for the 2016 shooting death of 58-year-old Greg Gunn. The confrontation began when Smith stopped Gunn as he was walking home from a neighborhood card game.
Smith's lawyers cited news coverage that noted Smith is white and Gunn was black. Smith's lawyers argued the community is "infested with racial prejudice and hatred" toward him.
Prosecutors oppose moving the trial. They say there's no evidence that news media coverage saturated the community or harmed Smith.
The county's population is 57 percent black.