Judge allows criminal history detail in trial of former transit officer charged with murder

Criminal history allowed in transit shooting case

LOS ANGELES — A judge has ruled that jurors in the upcoming trial of a former transit officer charged with murdering an unarmed man can hear about a 2006 incident in which the man resisted arrest.

The judge granted a defense motion Friday in Los Angeles to allow some details about the criminal history of Oscar Grant, who was shot in the back and killed at an Oakland transit station on New Year’s Day 2009.

Ex-Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Jonannes Mehserle has pleaded not guilty to murdering Grant.

The incident was taped by witnesses, viewed across the Internet and subsequently used as evidence during a preliminary hearing.

Mehserle’s trial was moved from Alameda County to Los Angeles because of widespread media coverage and racial tensions prompted by the case.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has denied a defense motion to allow police officers to be part of the jury pool for the upcoming trial of a former transit officer charged with murdering an unarmed man in Oakland.

Judge Robert Perry denied the motion at a hearing Friday in Los Angeles.

The defense requests to have officers serve in next month’s trial of ex-Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle. However, a state law prohibits peace officers from serving as jurors in criminal cases.

Mehserle is charged with shooting 22-year-old Oscar Grant in the back at an Oakland station on New Year’s Day 2009.

Mehserle has pleaded not guilty. His trial was moved from Alameda County to Los Angeles because of widespread media coverage.