SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts man charged with killing a National Guard soldier from Connecticut just before he deployed to Iraq has been postponed.
The Republican newspaper reports that the trial of 32-year-old Michael Rodriguez was pushed back by a judge from Oct. 6 to Jan. 18.
Prosecutors say the Holyoke man shot 25-year-old Julian Cartie, a former high school football star in New Britain, Connecticut, in Springfield in February 2009.
Authorities say Cartie, his brother and a friend visited several clubs and were headed to a restaurant at about 2 a.m. when they got in a dispute with people in a car, one of whom opened fire.
Rodriguez was arrested in 2014.
The trial was pushed back at the request of Rodriguez's lawyer, who cited discovery and witness identification issues.