NEW YORK (AP) - A defense lawyer has accused the government of panicking to paste together a crumbling case against a New York police officer accused of plotting to kill and eat women.

Attorney Julia Gatto made the claim Monday. She argues that a judge should suppress new evidence offered by prosecutors against her client, Officer Gilberto Valle.

The government says it has proof from a cellphone tower that Valle was near a Queens high school where one of eight intended victims was a student. It claims he was conducting surveillance there last May.

Gatto told a federal judge presiding over jury selection that the cellphone data was from a Saturday.

She says Valle graduated from the same high school.

A New Jersey man charged in the case will be tried separately.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

AP