ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) – A judge has granted a delay for the trial of John Allen Muhammad in the six Maryland deaths linked to the 2002 Washington-area sniper spree.

Defendants are usually entitled to a trial within 180 days of arrest in Maryland or within 120 days of transfer to the state, but attorneys can ask for delays in complicated cases.

After fighting extradition from Virginia, Muhammad arrived in Maryland on Aug. 22 and his trial had been set for May 1.

Despite objections from Muhammad, Montgomery County Judge John W. Debelius III on Friday granted the delay requested by his attorneys, citing “the very complicated logistics involved in the trial of this case and the length of trial.”

Muhammad and his alleged accomplice, John Lee Malvo, are charged with six counts of first-degree murder in the October 2002 deaths in Montgomery County.

Both already have been convicted of shootings in Virginia. Authorities there agreed to send the pair north for prosecution after Maryland promised to return them when their trials are over. Malvo was transferred to Maryland in May and his trial is set for Oct. 10.

Muhammad was convicted of a sniper shooting in Manassas, Va., and sentenced to die. Malvo is serving a life term in prison for a shooting in Falls Church, Va.

The two are accused of killing a total of 10 people and wounding three in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. They have also been linked to shootings in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Washington state.

Louisiana and Alabama also plan to prosecute Muhammad and Malvo.

AP-ES-09-24-05 1516EDT

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