Lawyers for millionaire Robert Durst will argue in a Louisiana courtroom Monday that he should be released from jail there so he can face murder charges in California.
Durst is charged in New Orleans with felony gun and drug possession after investigators found a .38-caliber revolver and 5 ounces of marijuana in his hotel room following his arrest March 14, according to prosecutors.
Durst lawyer Dick DeGuerin told NBC News that the gun and drug charges "really should be secondary."
"The California case is the most serious case on its merits," he said.
Karen DeSoto, a former prosecutor and NBC News legal analyst, said the gun charges against Durst could potentially put him in jail longer than any of the other charges he faces.
DeGuerin plans to contend that Durst was arrested in New Orleans "unlawfully." He also said he believes "maybe Louisiana wants a bit of the publicity pie."
Durst is charged with the 2000 murder of his confidante, Susan Berman, was questioned in the 1982 disappearance of his wife and was acquitted in the murder of a neighbor in 2001 — even though he admitted to shooting and dismembering him. DeGuerin was his defense attorney during that trial.
In the last episode of an HBO documentary about him, "The Jinx," he was caught on an open microphone saying: "What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."
DeGuerin said he realizes his client's case has television drama appeal and a "weirdness about it," but he is eager to get to California to have the murder case tried, because "when we get to court, this case is going to stand or fall on facts."
IN-DEPTH
- Robert Durst Is Doing Well in Louisiana Jail Ahead of L.A. Extradition: Lawyer
- Robert Durst Agrees to Extradition to Face Murder Charge in Los Angeles
- Robert Durst Had Latex Mask, Fake ID and $42,000 Cash When Arrested
— Elisha Fieldstadt
