Judge denies new trial in off-duty officer's 1980 death

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - A judge has denied a request for a new trial for an alleged getaway driver convicted in the 1980 shooting death of an off-duty northwestern Indiana police officer .

Fifty-five-year-old James Hill was sentenced to 47 years in prison in October after a jury earlier convicted him of murder in perpetuation of robbery and attempted robbery.

The Post-Tribune reports Judge Salvador Vasquez determined there was no need for a new trial.

Prosecutors said the Gary man waited in a getaway car while his two alleged accomplices went inside a Holiday Inn in Hammond, demanded money from a clerk and shot 33-year-old Lawrence Pucalik while Pucalik worked as a security guard. Hill denied involvement.

The update comes as one of the alleged accomplices, Pierre Catlett, awaits trial on a murder charge .

___

Information from: Post-Tribune, http://posttrib.chicagotribune.com/