Gather defendant's statement ahead of time (5)
I believe the answer is:
pleat
'gather' is the definition.
(to gather or fold into pleats)
'defendant's statement ahead of time' is the wordplay.
'defendant's statement' becomes 'plea' (I've seen this in another clue).
'ahead of' says to put letters next to each other (some letters go in front of others).
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'plea'+'t'='PLEAT'
(Other definitions for pleat that I've seen before include "Fold sewn or pressed into cloth" , "Fold in material" , "Fold pressed or stitched into cloth" , "Fold in clothing" , "Fold formed in fabric" .)