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Associated Press - November 9, 2009 7:55 PM ET
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A Reno judge has denied a defense motion to prohibit use of DNA evidence at the trial of a man accused of killing a young Reno woman and raping two others.
In a ruling Monday, Washoe District Judge Robert Perry said crime lab technicians didn't act in bad faith when samples collected from a crime scene were exhausted to develop a DNA profile of James Biela.
Biela's lawyer had argued there was no way to independently verify the crime lab's findings and therefore DNA evidence should be barred.
Biela is charged with the murder of 19-year-old Brianna Denison, who disappeared while sleeping on a friend's couch in January 2008. Her body was found about three weeks later.
He also is charged with raping two other women on or near the University of Nevada, Reno campus.
Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com
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