Local News in Brief : McMartin Motions Denied

The judge in the McMartin Pre-School molestation trial denied defense motions Monday to throw out the testimony of jail-house informant George Freeman or to dismiss any of the 79 counts against chief defendant Raymond Buckey.

“To suggest that Mr. Freeman’s testimony should be stricken at this time is to suggest that Mr. Freeman has no credibility, and I do not find that to be the case,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Pounders said, explaining that the jury should decide whether Freeman was telling the truth when he testified while they were cell mates that Buckey admitted acts of molestation.

Buckey’s lawyer, Daniel Davis, in arguing that Freeman’s testimony should be stricken, told the judge, “We do not let hooligans yell into the windows of our courtrooms and hang men on it.”