COEUR d'ALENE - The trial date for a 29-year-old Coeur d'Alene man accused of a hate crime has been moved out two months.

Joel T. Diekhoff was to be tried Jan. 3 for yelling racial slurs and threatening to beat up a black man in August in Coeur d'Alene.

First District Court Judge Lansing L. Haynes on Thursday reset the trial for March 6.

Diekhoff is charged with felony malicious harassment in Kootenai County.

Gary Amendola, Diekhoff's defense lawyer, said Thursday the two additional months before the trial will be used to explore options to resolve the case without going before a jury.

Diekhoff is accused of harassing Demetrius K. Lee, who is black, as Lee walked by Diekhoff's residence.

Lee has said he was walking to Sanders Beach when Diekhoff shouted at him near 19th Street and East Mullan Avenue.

Lee said during a probable cause hearing that Diekhoff asked if Lee was lost, using a racial slur. Lee yelled back.

Then Diekhoff went into his residence and came back outside with two other men, Lee said.

Lee ran off, went to a nearby friend's house, and returned a few minutes later with a baseball bat.

Lee told the court he saw Diekhoff had a swastika tattoo. Diekhoff had his shirt off at the time of the incident.

No blows were exchanged in the incident and Lee called police.

Through his attorney, Diekhoff has denied the allegations.