Judge: Haq defense can send own crime-scene investigator

A King County judge ruled Tuesday that Naveed Afzal Haq's defense team can send its own crime-scene investigator into the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle after attorneys of the accused killer argued that he was entitled to an expert "on his own team."

The ruling came over objections from prosecutors and representatives of the federation, which said it has been crippled without its offices since the July 28 shootings and wants to get its 40 employees back into the Belltown building as soon as possible. The offices will remain closed and the crime scene preserved until 8 a.m. Monday, the defense's deadline to be done with its investigation.

The Seattle Police Department has already combed the offices in search of evidence in the shooting rampage that left one woman dead and five others injured, taking 1,000 photos, more than 60 pieces of evidence, security videotapes and calculations of bullet trajectories, said Don Raz, senior deputy prosecuting attorney.

"The police have done the job that they're entrusted to do," he told Superior Court Judge Michael Trickey during the high-security afternoon hearing.

Haq's lawyers disagreed. "There's no way [the police] are equally working" for the state and the defense, said Kathryn Ross, one of Haq's attorneys. "They are employees of the state." She had originally requested two weeks inside the building.

Trickey said he tried to strike a balance between the need for Haq to get a fair trial and the needs of the federation.

Federation employees have been using office space elsewhere since the shootings.

"It creates a business disruption," said Nancy Geiger, the federation's interim chief executive officer. "Our productivity is very limited right now. We can't even access our files."

Haq, 30, is charged with nine felonies, including aggravated first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder, kidnapping, burglary and malicious harassment, the state's hate-crime law. He is accused of forcing his way into the federation offices and then carrying out the shooting spree, during which he allegedly spewed anti-Semitic statements.

Ruling on another motion presented by the defense team, Judge Trickey prohibited the media Tuesday from filming or photographing Haq while surrounded by sheriff's deputies or with his hands or legs in shackles. The judge fears the photographs could prejudice potential jurors.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com