Prosecutor files pre-trial Lazcano motions

 

February 6, 2013



Gazette Editor

A pre-trial hearing date has been slated for Friday on two motions filed in advance of the first trial in the state’s murder charge filed against each of the Lazcano brothers. The trial of Daniel Lazcano, 21, is scheduled to start Monday in superior court.

A pool of approximately 60 potential jurors will be called and jury selection will start. The trial is expected to last a week or longer.

Daniel Lazcano and his brother, Frank Lazcano III, 25, have been charged with the murder of Marcus Schur, 23, Rosalia. The charges were filed when Schur’s body was recovered in the creek south of Bonnie Lake on March 25 of last year.

A coroner’s investigation determined Schur had died of multiple gunshot wounds. Sheriff Brett Myers five days later reported he had arrested Frank Lazcano of Pine City and Daniel Lazcano of Spokane.

In a motion filed Friday in superior court, Prosecutor Denis Tracy asked the court to prohibit the defense from referring to a conviction of Frank Lazcano in a home entry case Dec. 27, 2011, at Malden.

The state alleged Frank Lazcano entered the residence in Malden in pursuit of Marcus Schur. At the time, prosecutors had assumed that Schur had left the area.

The outline of events filed with the motion alleges Frank Lazcano went to Malden after learning that Schur would be at the residence. It alleges the Lazcanos had been looking for Schur because they believed he had taken some of their possessions from a residence in Rosalia.

Frank Lazcano, who turned himself into the county jail one day after he learned he was sought for questioning in the Malden entry case, eventually negotiated a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first degree trespass on March 9 of last year. He was credited for a day already spent in jail and ordered to pay fines and fees totaling $1,000.

Discovery of Schur’s body two weeks later near Bonnie Lake led to the state filing murder charges against the brothers. The state contends Schur was shot by Daniel after he went out the back of the house at Malden Dec. 27, 2011.

Tracy asked the court to prohibit the defense from eliciting testimony or mentioning Frank Lazcano’s initial arrest in opening statements at the trial because it could prejudice the jury.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Byron Bedirian Jan. 31 also filed a motion with the court to prohibit the defense from introducing evidence on alleged drugs or alcohol use by Schur including posthumous drug testing results. The motion contends the fact that the alleged victim may have used drugs is not a defense for the charges faced by the Lazcanos.

Daniel Lazcano has been represented by Spokane defense attorney Eric Chrisitanson.

Frank Lazcano’s trial has been scheduled for Feb. 25.

 

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