A Denver judge ruled Friday that murder prosecution in a highway slaying can continue even though a paralegal said publicly that prosecutors believe the defendant acted in self-defense and should not have been criminally charged.

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

Moodley’s lawyers argued that the charges should be dismissed after a paralegal working in the Denver District Attorney’s Office told one of Moodley’s friends that prosecutors believed they had “made a mistake” and should not have charged Moodley with murder. Moodley claimed he acted in self-defense during the shooting.

Brody disagreed with defense attorneys in a four-page order Friday, concluding that the paralegal’s opinion on the case does not matter, and defense attorneys failed to show that. prosecutors believe that Moodley acted in self-defense.