AKRON, Ohio, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- A judge ruled Monday an FBI audiotape, an alleged confession by a man accused of attempting to blow up an Ohio bridge, will not be entered in his trial.
U.S. District Judge David Dowd Jr. granted a motion to bar the use of the 2-hour tape, an audio recording of an interview only partially preserved due to a technical malfunction, in the Sept. 17 trial of Douglas Wright, 26, of Indianapolis and three co-defendants.
A fifth defendant, Anthony Hayne, 35, of Cleveland, pleaded guilty last month and is to testify against the other four.
The men, described by prosecutors as domestic terrorists, allegedly planted bombs to destroy the "Ohio 82" bridge that spans a national park in Ohio between Brecksville and Sagamore Hills Township, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported.
FBI agents said they foiled the plot, with help from an informant, by supplying fake explosives to the men, and arresting them April 30.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Getz argued in court that audible portions of the tape should be used in the trial, but Anthony Vegh, Wright's lawyer, contended use of "snippets" of the recording could put the interview out of context, the newspaper said.
The judge agreed with Vegh, but said testimony of Brian Taylor, the FBI agent who conducted the interview, would be allowed at trial.