By Janice Morse
Enquirer staff writer

LEBANON - A judge is considering whether to exclude certain evidence or drop charges alleging that Thomas James "Jim" Barton, a former Springboro police officer, was involved in the 1995 slaying of his first wife.

After a daylong hearing Thursday, Common Pleas Judge James L. Flannery has 30 days to render a decision.

Flannery said it would be premature for him to decide whether publicity about the shooting death of Vickie Barton, a 40-year-old nurse, would unfairly affect a jury.

But Flannery agreed to hear evidence and arguments on other issues raised by Barton's lawyers, John H. Rion and his son, Jon Paul Rion.

They allege officers made false statements in search-warrant affidavits and argue that any resulting evidence should be excluded.

The Rions also dispute the accuracy of a transcript of their client's call to 911 on the day of the slaying. And they say authorities unnecessarily delayed prosecuting Barton, hurting their chances of defending him.

Assistant Prosecutor Leslie Meyer challenged each of those assertions. And, under Meyer's questioning, J.R. Abshear, a former Warren County detective who spent years investigating Vickie Barton's slaying, said that he had multiple suspects - including Barton - but never had sufficient evidence to obtain an indictment by the time he retired in early 2003.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com