Former City Court Judge Leticia Astacio likely cannot get a fair trial in Monroe County on a charge that she illegally tried to buy a firearm and instead will be tried in Onondaga County, appellate judges have ruled.

Astacio's attorney, Mark Foti, had argued that a fair jury couldn't be found in Monroe County because of the ample media coverage of Astacio's drunken driving conviction and the loss of her judgeship.

"We're happy that the Fourth Department (appellate court) made a decision that is extraordinarily rare," Foti said.

Astacio was indicted by a grand jury in September on the charge of attempted criminal purchase or disposal of a weapon, a felony. She was arrested and charged in April after being accused of trying to purchase a shotgun at Dick's Sporting Goods in Henrietta.

Prosecutors contend that the attempted weapon purchase violated Astacio's probation mandates.

"Under the particular circumstances presented, we conclude that there is reasonable cause to believe that a fair and impartial jury cannot now be drawn in Monroe County," a panel of appellate judges ruled this week.

The judges moved the trial, originally scheduled for later this month, to Onondaga County.

GCRAIG@Gannett.com