BALCO Case Hearing Reset

A federal court hearing scheduled for today in which Barry Bonds’ trainer would seek the dismissal of steroid distribution charges against him has been postponed for about three months, a delay Greg Anderson’s lawyer said was an effort to try to work out a plea deal.

“We’re trying to resolve the case,” Anderson’s attorney, Anna Ling, said Tuesday. “We do not want to take this to trial. And we don’t want to bring in baseball players to testify.”

Federal prosecutors declined public comment about delaying until about June 26 a hearing in which Anderson was trying to suppress a warrant authorizing the search of his house and car.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Jeffrey Nedrow said in court papers that the government did not object to the postponement.

The delay of a hearing is among the clearest signals that a deal between authorities and Anderson might be worked out. Ling and authorities declined to elaborate on discussions.

Last week, a similar suppression hearing for Victor Conte, founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative who is also on trial, was indefinitely delayed because Conte fired his lawyers.

That move fueled speculation that he and BALCO Vice President James Valente were looking for a deal, which Conte has said he has been seeking.