© Lloyd Fox/The Baltimore Sun via AP Pastor Westley West, from Faith Empowered Ministries, leads protesters as they march towards Pratt Street and the Inner Harbor, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, in Baltimore, as the first court hearing was set to begin in the case of six police officers criminally charged in the death of Freddie Gray.

A judge on Wednesday ordered that six Baltimore Police officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray be tried separately.

The ruling was one of three that Judge Barry Williams handed down during the first pre-trial motions hearing in the case. Williams earlier denied defense motions to dismiss charges against the officers and to recuse State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby's office from the case.

Prosecutors argued to have the six officers tried in groups, while defense attorneys had argued their clients should be tried separately.

Defense attorneys had sought to have the charges against their clients dismissed due to prosecutorial misconduct, and for Mosby and other prosecutors in the State's Attorney's office to be recused from the case because of alleged conflicts of interest.

They argued that Mosby had gone too far in her remarks when she publicly announced charges against the officers on May 1. But while Judge Barry Williams said while he found some of Mosby's remarks "troubling," he said they did not prevent the officers from receiving a fair trial.

Defense attorneys cited alleged conflicts of interest that they said required Mosby's office to be recused from the case. On that motion, Williams said the defense "didn't come close" to justifying a removal of the prosecutors' office.

A second pre-trial motions hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10, when the sides are scheduled to argue a defense motion to move the trial out of Baltimore.

Gray, 25, suffered a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody on April 12 and died from his injuries a week later. The six police officers were indicted on charges ranging from second-degree depraved heart murder to misconduct in office.

Andrew Graham, a defense attorney for Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., argued that when Mosby publicly announced the charges against the officers on May 1, she "adopted and encouraged the public's cry of 'no justice, no peace,'" and that her statements tainted the jury pool.

"She handled this as though it was some sort of pep rally," Graham told Williams.

Chief Deputy State's Attorney Michael Schatzow said Mosby's comments were taken directly from a statement of charges and that Williams should consider the words she spoke and not accept the defense's "gross distortion of what she said." He said any effort to calm the unrest throughout the city served a "legitimate" law enforcement purpose.

Catherine Flynn, a defense attorney for Officer Garrett E. Miller, argued for the recusal of Mosby and repeated arguments made in written motions that prosecutors in Mosby's office became witnesses in the case through their independent investigation of Gray's death.

She said the court should decide on the issue prior to allowing the case to go to trial. Schatzow argued that prosecutors had no conflicts of interest, noting prosecutors regularly perform investigative tasks.

"None of these conflicts represent real conflicts that require recusal of anyone, let alone the entire State's Attorney's Office," he said.

Williams, who at times cut off both the defense attorneys and prosecutors arguing their points, raised questions about statements made by Mosby made, including when she answered a reporter's question about whether the police officers had cooperated with the investigation.

"It's inappropriate, and you know it," Williams said to Schatzow about that exchange.

But in his ruling, Williams said it was not within his authority to decide whether she had broken the Maryland Lawyer's Rules of Professional Conduct, which guide attorney behavior. That was for the Attorney Grievance commission to decide, he said.

The judge also said defense claims of conflicts of interests by Mosby and other prosecutors "didn't come close" to meriting their removal from the case. Williams called the alleged conflict based on Mosby's husband, Nick Mosby, serving as a City Councilman in the district where Gray was arrested "troubling and condescending."

At the conclusion of his remarks, Williams told attorneys to stop seeking media sound bites and making unsupported claims.

A gathering of media and sign-toting protesters began to form outside the courthouse around 8 a.m. -- an anticipated scene surrounding a case that has garnered international attention following rioting and unrest in the weeks following Gray's death.

Protesters began moving downtown toward the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore with arms linked. At least one person was arrested. Protesters then headed north to Baltimore's police headquarters.

Goodson, the driver of the police van in which Gray was injured, is charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder. Sgt. Alicia D. White, Lt. Brian W. Rice and Officer William G. Porter are charged with manslaughter. Officers Edward M. Nero and Garrett E. Miller face lesser charges, including second-degree assault.

© Lloyd Fox/The Baltimore Sun via AP Baltimore Police try to control an angry protesters while detaining activist Kwame Rose as demonstrators marched to Pratt Street and the Inner Harbor, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, in Baltimore. The officers have all pleaded not guilty. They waived their rights to attend Wednesday's hearing. Gray's family was also not expected to attend, according to their attorney.

Following Gray's death, peaceful protests against police brutality were staged across the city. But on the day of Gray's funeral on April 27, students and other residents began clashing with police officers near Mondawmin Mall, and portions of the city quickly spiraled into rioting, looting and arson.

More than 100 police officers were injured and more than 400 businesses were damaged amid the rioting, which prompted Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to institute a curfew and Gov. Larry Hogan to deploy the National Guard. Mosby announced charges against the officers on May 1, and they were later indicted by a grand jury.

Police have been preparing for the hearing by meeting with business leaders and law enforcement counterparts from agencies across the Baltimore region. They also canceled leave for officers on Wednesday and on Sept. 10, when a second hearing is scheduled on the defense motion to have the case moved out of Baltimore because of the tremendous amount of exposure it has had in the city.

Prior to the hearing resuming at 2 p.m. Wednesday, East Baltimore resident Malcolm Wilson, 23 said he's pleased by the judge's ruling not to recuse Mosby and not to drop charges against the officers.

"It's a step in the right direction," he said, calling it "a move to keep the city calm."

Wilson said he knew Gray personally. He clutched a white cardboard sign that read, "I am here for Justice for Mr. Gray."

He said he's less concerned about whether the officers will be tried separately, but said he is worried about a later motions hearing to decide whether the case should be moved to another jurisdiction. Wilson feels that because Gray's arrest occurred in Baltimore, it should be tried here.

"It didn't happen anywhere else. It's going to cause an uproar," if it's moved outside the city, he said.



