SHALIMAR - Some of the statements given to police by an accused quadruple-murderer when he was arrested can't be used against him, a judge ruled Friday, but other statements can be.

Okaloosa Circuit Judge G. Robert Barron ruled that while several statements Jeffrey Hutchinson gave to investigators before and after a 51/2-hour interrogation were given freely and voluntarily, at one point the defendant indicated he wanted to stop talking.

That portion of the interrogation, about halfway through a 206-page transcript, cannot be used at Hutchinson's trial, set for Jan. 8.

Hutchinson, 38, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 11, 1998, slayings of Rene Flaherty, 32, and her children, Geoffrey, 8, Amanda, 6, and Logan, 4. They were killed with a 12-gauge shotgun in the home he shared with them on John King Road, just south of Crestview.

Also Friday, Barron continued to withhold a final ruling on defense lawyer Stephen Cobb's effort to move the trial out of Okaloosa County. Cobb earlier argued that pre-trial publicity about the case would make it impossible for Hutchinson to receive a fair trial locally.

Friday, he also raised the issue of courthouse security, saying fear of violence would discourage prospective jurors from serving on the jury and would create a climate of fear that would render the trial unfair to his client.

"I cannot in good conscience ask (courthouse security personnel) to take a bullet for my client, for me or for my wife (co-counsel Kimberly Cobb)," Cobb told Barron. "A metal detector is not enough, and every juror knows that."

Prosecutor Bobby Elmore said there was no danger to anyone other than Hutchinson, and "certainly there can be safeguards for Mr. Hutchinson," during the trial.

Barron said he would continue to take the motion to move the trial under advisement until jury selection begins next month. The judge said he could move the trial if efforts to seat an impartial jury fail.

Statements that Hutchinson made to sheriff's deputies while in a holding cell and interview room will be allowed at trial, Barron ruled. The judge said that was because those statements were freely and voluntarily made, even though some were made before he was advised of his right to remain silent.

During that time, Hutchinson told lawmen that two shotgun-wielding men wearing ski masks broke down the door of the home he shared with Flaherty and her children, that he struggled with one and the other struck him in the back of his head with the butt of a pistol-gripped shotgun.

Former sheriff's Sgt. Mike Stewart testified that both he and a jail nurse checked Hutchinson but found no signs of injury to his head.

Hutchinson told deputies that he heard one shot before he was knocked unconscious. The men were from Quantico, Hutchinson told them, making an apparent reference to Quantico, Va. That is the headquarters of an FBI behavioral science team, a Marine Corps computer and telecommunications activities facility and a Marine Corps base.

Hutchinson has maintained the government had targeted him because of articles or letters he had published that were critical of President Clinton.

Also allowed, Barron ruled, were statements Hutchinson gave to investigators before he asked to stop the interrogation, and evidence gathered at the

jail from a physical examination that the defendant consented to.

He tentatively blocked use of a statement Hutchinson made while walking into a Crestview Sheriff's Office substation, in which he told two investigators that even if they removed his handcuffs, "I could take both of you out if I wanted to."

Cobb asked the judge to "throw the whole thing out" because of repeated religious references used during the interrogation, saying investigators improperly offered Hutchinson a benefit if he would confess to the murders.

The benefit, he argued, was a spiritual one of redemption and forgiveness, and making such offers is improper.

"While the court looks with personal disapproval on that particular method of interview, the overall method, no law in Florida renders such method illegal," Barron said.

Barron did not throw out the entire interview of Hutchinson, despite Cobb's contention that Hutchinson was impaired by alcohol. Investigators testified they could smell a mild to moderate odor of alcohol from Hutchinson, but said he was cognizant of what was happening and gave "appropriate" answers to their questions.

Also Friday, Barron denied Hutchinson's motion, made by the defendant without Cobb's knowledge or approval, to remove himself from the trial. Hutchinson said Barron was biased against him, but the judge said the motion was legally insufficient.

More pre-trial motions will be heard on Jan. 2, less than a week before the trial itself.