Attorneys for suspect in Alexandria slayings want charges dropped Attorneys for an alleged Alexandria serial killer asked a judge Tuesday to throw out the murder charges against their client - or at least restrict the evidence prosecutors are allowed to present against him at trial - arguing he was taken into custody initially on a bogus charge. The attorneys for 54-year-old Charles Severance said in court filings that the gun charge first used to detain the eccentric former political activist was based on misleading information from a Loudoun County detective and thus violated Severance's rights. They asked Judge Jane Marum Roush to dismiss the case entirely, or at least to give them the opportunity to argue the evidence police collected after taking Severance into custody in West Virginia should be deemed inadmissible. Severance is charged in three of the most high-profile killings in Alexandria over the past decade: the February slaying of music teacher Ruthanne Lodato, the November 2013 fatal shooting of regional transportation planner Ronald Kirby and the 2003 slaying of real estate agent Nancy Dunning. He is charged with capital murder in two of the cases, although prosecutors said that, if Severance is convicted, they won't seek the death penalty. The legal salvos filed by Severance's defense attorneys Tuesday in Alexandria Circuit Court are among the first of many expected in the case, although none is particularly surprising. Previous attorneys for Severance argued, largely unsuccessfully, that the weapons charge used to hold him initially was a sham, designed only to further Alexandria's murder investigation. Prosecutors dropped the charge after Severance was indicted in connection with the killings in Alexandria. In their filings Tuesday, Severance's attorneys argued that a Loudoun detective who swore out a warrant charging Severance with being a felon in possession of a firearm this year misstated what Linda Robra, Severance's girlfriend, told investigators. The defense lawyers alleged that the detective claimed Robra told authorities she had bought two guns for Severance and saw Severance leave with the weapons, when, she had told authorities repeatedly, she bought the guns for herself and never saw Severance leave with them. The two lived together in Ashburn, Va. "The known factual falsehood of the affidavit invalidates the arrest warrant," Severance's attorneys wrote. Without the inclusion of the materially false facts and omission of material facts, the Magistrate could not have found probable cause to arrest Mr. Severance. A spokeswoman for the Loudoun commonwealth's attorney office did not return messages seeking comment, but a spokesman for the Loudoun sheriff's office said officials were "looking into the concerns of the attorney to determine if there is any validity to them." Defense lawyers acknowledged that under aggressive questioning from a detective, Robra admitted Severance could have manipulated her into buying the guns and that he ultimately took them. Joe King, one of Severance's defense attorneys, declined to comment Tuesday. Defense lawyers also asked that Severance face a separate trial in connection with Dunning's killing - arguing that its age made it virtually impossible that it was connected to the others and there was "no forensic evidence tying anyone to any of the crime scenes." To try the cases together, prosecutors must demonstrate some connection or common scheme or plan among them. Severance's attorneys wrote that although all the victims seemed to die at the hands of a .22-caliber firearm - and all were shot at home during the day - there were no DNA links or any specific connections that they knew about. Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney Bryan Porter declined to comment. Prosecutors have an opportunity to respond to the motions, and a hearing is scheduled for next month. Severance's trial is scheduled for Oct. 5.