EPHRATA - Accused killer Michael Meier's attorney requested at a hearing yesterday that photographs not be allowed during his court appearances.

Wenatchee attorney Julie Anderson said that every time Meier's photo appears "in the paper" his teenage girlfriend and sister receive death threats.

Members of the courtroom gallery, some wearing t-shirts bearing the name and photograph of Brandon Mende, who Meier is accused of shooting to death in February, sighed loudly after the request.

Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz denied the motion, saying that it should be submitted in writing, not orally, before he would even consider it. He asked that members of the media get permission from him in the future before taking photographs of Meier's court appearances.

Meier was in court for an omnibus hearing, and Anderson and county prosecutors agreed on an October trial date.

Meier is accused of shooting Mende to death at a house party on Turnkey Road in February. Prosecutors allege the crime was gang related.

Meier, 18, was previously sentenced to nine months in jail after pleading guilty in March 2013 to assault and kidnapping, according to previous Columbia Basin Herald articles.