A judge has approved a request to consolidate the trials of two auto dealership executives accused in the March disappearance of more than 80 vehicles from a Scottsbluff car lot.

Scotts Bluff County District Judge Leo Dobrovolny, who initially denied the move, dropped his concerns Thursday after prosecutors agreed not to introduce a recorded interview conducted with Fait at a Utah jail. The judge said using it in a joint trial could have hurt Allen Patch's chance of getting a fair trial.

Patch and Fait are scheduled for trial beginning Dec. 1 on charges of theft, attempted theft and certificate of title violations.

The missing vehicles, worth more than $2.5 million, were found in Utah, Wyoming, Las Vegas and Scottsbluff.