LAFAYETTE, IN — Prosecutors and crime victim Judge Steve Meyer do not work so closely that there's a conflict of interest, so there will be no special prosecutor appointed, Special Judge Lisa Swaim ruled Monday in her denial to delay defendant Thomas Moss' case to wait for an appeal.

Swaim denied the special prosecutor earlier this summer. Moss asked the court earlier this month to certify an interlocutory appeal and pause Moss' case until the Indiana Court of Appeals can review Swaim's denial of a special prosecutor. Moss' motion indicated that if Swaim denied the interlocutory appeal, he would appeal anyway.

It is not known whether Moss' attorneys will follow through with an appeal as their client's case moves closer to its trial date. Earlier this month, Moss' attorneys' schedules conflicted with previously set trial dates in September and November. Swaim moved Moss' trial to April 5 earlier this month, and she stressed she is not inclined to approve more delays. His final pretrial hearing is scheduled for January.

Moss and co-defendants Raylen Ferguson, Blake Smith and Nevaeh Bell face two charges of attempted murder, three charges of conspiracy to commit murder, various battery charges as well as a variety of sentence-enhancing charges.

In addition, Moss faces more recent charges of obstruction of justice and perjury for breaching jail security and phoning a woman who prosecutors say was helping him attempt to manipulate the co-defendants. That woman, Mindi Metzinger, also faces pending charges of obstruction of justice and assisting a criminal.

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Moss, Smith, Ferguson and Bell conspired to kill Meyer and his wife, Kim, on Jan. 18 at the judge's south-side home, according to prosecutors. The plot was part of a plan to delay Moss' Jan. 20 trial on 2024 charges of domestic battery and intimidation, as well as gun charges. The four also are accused of conspiring to kill the witness in the 2024 charges.

Moss was in court Tuesday about a prosecutors' request to join Moss' and Smith's trials into one trial.

Moss' objection claimed that Smith and Moss are "bit players" in the case. But deputy prosecutor Cassidy Laux argued they aren't bit players.

"Thomas Moss and Blake Smith were the ones … based upon the evidence, meeting on a regular basis at Thomas Moss' house, kind of planning this, bringing Raylen (Ferguson) in to actually do the shooting," Laux argued. "Blake Smith was the one purchased the firearm, and this was all done to benefit Mr. Moss. Neither Mr. Moss or Mr. Smith, factually, are these peripheral or bit players."

Moss and Smith have not given police statements and have not implicated the other in the case, Laux said. The evidence and witnesses will be the same, and joining the two cases will be more economical.

But Moss' additional charges from trying to manipulate the other defendants from jail added charges, making Smith's case slightly different, which was pointed out by Moss' attorney, Michael Cunningham.

"Each individual defendant under our state and federal constitution has a right to receive a fair trial," Cunningham said. "We're not talking about guilt by association. We are talking about: Does the evidence fit and conform to each defendant in their specific role? We're talking about a juror's inability to focus on what does the evidence shows vs. how it relates to Mr. Moss, specifically, Mr. Smith or any of the other co-defendants."

Swaim said she will schedule a hearing with Smith's attorneys to hearing their arguments for or against joining the two cases, after which she will make a ruling.

Cunningham also asked Tuesday that Swaim review the wording of the May 12 gag order.

That order was prepared by prosecutors in what was supposed to be a motion to remove an online defense survey to bolster their arguments for a change of venue, Cunningham said, arguing that the current order restricts Moss' defense team from investigating the case.

"They just don't want the order," Laux countered, "so they're going to interpret it any way to say this is wrong. Whether or not this court modifies this gag order, there needs to be a gag order in place."

Swaim said she will review the order and tweak the wording if she believes clarification is needed.

Reach Ron Wilkins at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Judge refuses to pause defendant's case in Lafayette judge's shooting