Lawyer seeks gag order for mom case

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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A lawyer for a Colorado woman charged with killing her young sons by leaving them alone in a hot car asked a judge for a gag order.

In a written motion filed this week, Ed Nugent said additional information coming from police and prosecutors could arouse more anger against Heather Lynn Jensen, 24, The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction reported.

"In general, there is a large group of people in the community with 'lynch mob' mentality about the defendant and this case," Nugent said.

Jensen has been charged with the criminally negligent homicide of her sons, William, 2, and Tyler, 4, and with negligent child abuse resulting in death. She is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail and is scheduled for a court appearance Thursday.

Investigators say Jensen left the boys in her sports utility vehicle with the heater on full blast on Nov. 27, while she had sex with a man in his truck nearby. A witness has also said she was smoking marijuana.

In his motion, Nugent requested an order from Mesa County District Judge Valerie Robison that would bar lawyers on both sides from releasing any information to the news media except for scheduling details.