Defense questions ID in Sames case

APPLETON - A Minnesota man accused of posing as a police officer and assaulting a teen girl at the Fox River Mall was back in court Thursday.

The attorney for Jamie Sames doesn't want the alleged victim, a 13-year-old girl, to be able to identify him at trial.

Attorney Nila Robinson filed the motion earlier this week, but the judge ran out of time to hear arguments.  The hearing will continue on Tuesday.

The defense feels that showing the girl surveillance video from Target, shortly after the alleged assault, helped her identify Sames in a photo line up.

His attorney wants both identifications tossed out, arguing that the girl could only give a vague description of Sames until she viewed the video. 

Afterward, Robinson argues that the girl gave police characteristics she had seen in the video; such as a five o'clock shadow and a black cell phone at his hip. 

She also raised concerns that police didn't show the girl enough of the surveillance footage, only a small portion with a single person resembling her description.

Prosecutors however, feel the police acted in the interest of public safety.  They don't feel this motion will make or break the case.

"In this case there are multiple ways he was identified," District Attorney Carrie Schneider said. "There are layers of identification that are not being challenged."

Because of this motion, Sames' trial will be pushed back to late October.

Both sides say they need the time to file legal briefs.