Spector Judge Asked To Review Gun Evidence

LATEST: Prosecutors working on music mogul PHIL SPECTOR's murder case have asked a judge to reconsider a ruling which excludes evidence alleging the star threatened six people with handguns.

Spector stands accused of shooting Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra, California mansion in 2003. He maintains she committed suicide, and his trial last year (07) ended with a hung jury.

The retrial is scheduled to be held at a Los Angeles court in October (08), and prosecutors want the new jurors to be privy to testimonies from experts including Dr. Louis Pena, who concluded Clarkson's death was homicide after conducting an autopsy.

On Monday (11Aug08), prosecutors Alan Jackson and Truc Do filed a motion asking the trial judge to allow the evidence of previous firearms allegations to show Spector's "common design or plan".

The six incidents involved men and women, and some allegedly occurred in public. Two resulted in gun-related convictions against Spector for which he received probation in the 1970s. Defence attorney Doron Weinberg declined to comment, but says a response to the motion would be filed

During the first trial, Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler allowed the testimony of five women who claimed Spector threatened them with guns. The judge admitted it was "a dangerous path to go down" legally but could illustrate the state's theory of motive.