In his Feb. 21 motion, Halverson wrote that the two counts should be separated because one incident is alleged to have occurred in the fall of 2009 and the second allegedly occurred in May 2013. And, he wrote, the 2009 incident wasn’t reported to police until after the 2013 incident had been reported.

Tarango has a right to sever, Halverson wrote, because evidence from the 2009 allegation would not be admissible in the trial of the 2013 alleged incident if the first offense had been reported earlier and a trial held.

The Pinal County Attorney’s Office responded in another motion, asking that the judge deny the motion to sever the cases.

The County Attorney’s Office has asked that Tarango be declared a repeat offender if he is convicted of the two charges. But, Halverson has countered that, pointing out that the two alleged incidents occurred years apart and aren’t evidence of any pattern of behavior.

An evidentiary hearing on the motion to sever the cases is scheduled for April 16 in Pinal County Superior Court. Tarango, 72, has pleaded not guilty to the two charges.

He is accused of inappropriately touching the breasts of two women and of trying to kiss and hug the two women. One instance allegedly occurred prior to a funeral service and the other after a church service. Tarango was suspended automatically from his church duties last year after the first allegation was made.