A Denver judge on Friday ruled that a murder investigation into a road rage shooting can proceed even though a paralegal said publicly that prosecutors believed the defendant acted in self-defense and should not be criminally charged.

Denver District Court Judge Karen Brody late Friday denied a request to dismiss the first-degree murder case against 32-year-old Nicholas Moodley. Moodley He is accused of murdering Shane Warn25, during a November 2023 road rage encounter at Park Avenue West and Blake Street in Denver near Coors Field.

Moodley’s lawyers argued that the charges should be dropped after a paralegal working for the Denver District Attorney’s Office told one of Moodley’s friends that they believed prosecutors “got it wrong” and should not charge Moodley with murder. Moodley claimed he acted in self-defense during the attack.

In his four-page order filed Friday, Brody disagreed with defense attorneys and stated that the paralegal’s opinion of the case was not important, which defense attorneys did not indicate. prosecutors believe That Moodley acted in self-defense.