WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on a suppression of evidence hearing in the Robert Kraft prostitution case (all times local):
5:30 p.m.
Attorneys for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft wound down a three-day hearing by arguing surveillance video capturing Kraft inside a Florida massage spa should be suppressed in his prostitution case since a warrant allowing it should never have been granted.
The judge in state court in South Florida on Wednesday didn’t immediately issue a ruling, but he did order Kraft to appear later in the month at a hearing on whether both sides are ready for trial.
Kraft’s attorneys said the warrant had no instructions on how to protect innocent people, detectives didn’t try to use less intrusive investigative methods and the lead detective was reckless in his statements in the warrant.
Prosecutors said the warrant was justified. Detectives testified that they switched to a different video feed if an innocent customer was getting a legitimate massage.
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1:35 p.m.
A judge says video surveillance from police busts at two massage parlors in Florida can’t be used in prosecuting prostitution charges against alleged patrons in cases similar to one involving New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
A judge said Wednesday detectives didn’t follow rules to minimize the surveillance of noncriminal activity in massage rooms at two spas in Martin County, Florida.
The judge’s decision in Martin County is independent of whatever the judge in neighboring Palm Beach County decides in Kraft’s case.
The judge says the hidden video surveillance captured innocent customers who were getting legitimate massages.
The ruling came as Kraft’s attorneys argued for a third day in a courtroom in Palm Beach County that video of the Patriots owner allegedly paying for sex acts at a Jupiter, Florida, spa should be thrown out.
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