BRENTWOOD — A former Epsom man charged with striking a Windham police officer in 2009 says a jury should not hear about his conviction for participating in a bank robbery moments before a police pursuit along Interstate 93.

Clint Pickering, 27, won a brief delay to his trial that was set to begin last week on 10 charges for allegedly hitting police Officer Jason Dzierlatka and nearly striking two Salem police officers on Sept. 18, 2009.

Prosecutors want to use Pickering’s federal conviction in the bank robbery as evidence at his upcoming trial in Rockingham County Superior Court over objections by his defense lawyer.

Judge N. William Delker is expected to soon decide the matter.

Pickering was recently transferred from a prison in Coleman, Fla., back to New Hampshire so he can go on trial here the week of Sept. 24.

“If the state were allowed to use the federal conviction as substantive evidence, this would be unfairly prejudicial as the prior conviction is intended to induce a guilty verdict,” defense lawyer Neil Reardon said in court papers.

Reardon argued that prosecutors can use witness testimony and other evidence to try to convince jurors that Pickering was driving the car when Dzierlatka was struck.

Dzierlatka has undergone numerous surgeries and skin grafts to his left foot and leg after dispatching a tire deflation device under the car Pickering was driving to flee from police, prosecutors said.

Pickering is serving an 11½-year federal prison sentence for his role in robbing the Bank of New England in Windham with Patrick McKeen.

McKeen is serving a 10½-year federal prison sentence for the robbery. He received a suspended 3½- to 7-year prison sentence in November 2010 for pleading guilty to falsifying physical evidence.

Windham police criticized the judge’s sentence at the time because it did not add time to McKeen’s term behind bars.

In superior court, Pickering is facing charges of second-degree assault, conduct after an accident with personal injury, three counts of reckless conduct, two counts of criminal threatening and misdemeanor charges of disobeying a police officer.

The second-degree assault charge is punishable by up to 3½ to 7 years in prison. The criminal threatening charge — for nearly striking the two Salem police officers — is punishable by a 10- to 30-year term.

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James A. Kimble may be reached at JKimble@newstote.com.