Judge lifts gag order in Toste murder case

<p>A Sonoma County judge Friday lifted a gag order preventing attorneys, witnesses and police officers from discussing the recently concluded Matthew Toste murder case.</p><p>Judge Lawrence Antolini removed the protective order at the request of lawyers for Toste's convicted killer, Joseph Lopez Jr., 21, who argued it had been violated and was no longer beneficial.</p><p>Antolini, who issued the order near the start of the trial in January to prevent jury contamination, agreed that recent newspaper coverage had rendered the gag order moot. He had extended it beyond the verdict to cover sentencing, but said that no longer seemed appropriate.</p><p>“I'm not a jury. I'm a judge,” Antolini said. “If I let publicity effect me I shouldn't be here.”</p><p>Prosecutor Spencer Brady did not object to having the order lifted but warned it could result in more stories about the case, which took more than three years to complete and has led to criticism of the district attorney's office.</p><p>Brady said he was “troubled” by comments in an April 14 story about the costs of court-appointed counsel for Lopez and his former co-defendant, Paul Whiterock, 30, who was acquitted of murder charges. The story detailed an early plea bargain attempt that suggested prosecutors knew their case against Whiterock was weak.</p><p>Antolini agreed attempts to keep publicity down had been “defeated.” But he said he felt the defendants received a fair trial and he didn't see any reason to keep the gag order in place.</p><p>“It did accomplish what we set out to do,” Antolini said. “I'm going to lift it.”</p><p>Lopez, who was convicted of second-degree murder in the slaying of Toste in a downtown Santa Rosa parking garage, is awaiting sentencing. He also is headed to trial on separate charges stemming from an unrelated shooting and an assault.</p><p>His lawyer, George Boisseau, had argued additional publicity would hamper his ability to get an impartial jury in the latter cases. He did not elaborate on why he wanted the gag order lifted.</p>