Second hung jury: Judge releases Lazcano

Daniel Lazcano, 22, was allowed release from jail Monday afternoon after the jury in his second trial reported they were unable to come up with a verdict on charges of murder and kidnapping of Marcus Schur at Malden Dec. 27, 2011.

The jury, which started deliberation Friday after more than four hours of final arguments, reported their non-verdict after less the three hours of deliberation Monday. Their inability to reach a verdict matched the deadlock reported Feb. 21 by the jury for the first trial of Daniel Lazcano.

Judge David Frazier Monday again declared a mistrial, but allowed Daniel Lazcano release on his own recognizance to return to Spokane. He had been in jail more than 14 months since his arrest March 30, 2012, after Schur’s body was discovered March 25 by a fisherman in Bonnie Lake Creek.

Lazcano had been held in jail on $250,000 bond, but Monday he was released and ordered to report for a status hearing in two weeks.

Daniel Lazcano was convicted in his first trial on a charge of unlawful disposal of human remains. He admitted during the first trial that he helped drop Schur’s body in the creek at Bonnie Lake the night of Dec. 27, 2011.

The time he spent in jail between the two trials is roughly the equivalent of the sentence he could face on the misdemeanor conviction.

Also Monday, a warrant committing Frank Lazcano to the state department of corrections was filed in court. He was credited with a total of 432 days served in jail here. Frank Lazcano was sentenced to 25 years in prison April 12 after the jury in his trial found him guilty of felony murder of Schur. He remained in jail here and refused to testify at his brother’s second trial May 31.

Prosecutor Denis Tracy after Monday’s second mistrial outcome said he was undecided about whether or not to schedule a third trial for Daniel Lazcano or seek another alternative.

Defense attorney Eric Christianson, who presented a two-hour-plus final argument on Lazcano’s behalf at the end of the trial Friday morning, rated Monday’s result as a win because Lazcano was allowed release and was still not convicted.

Christianson represented Daniel Lazcano as a court-appointed defense attorney in the second trial. He was appointed by Judge Frazier after reporting to the court that the Lazcano family lacked funds to retain him after the first trial. Christianson, after the first trial, said he initially agreed to represent Lazcano with the proceeds of a fund raising event.

One member of the jury panel told the Gazette the jury decided to report their no verdict result after just one juror said she wasn’t convinced the state had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The juror told others on the panel she believed she had to vote according to her conscience.

The holdout juror reportedly said she felt the state’s case was flawed because one of the key witnesses, Ben Evensen of Rosalia, gave different versions of his account during his testimony. When other jurors asked the holdout what they could do to convince her to change her opinion, the holdout cited one of the court’s instructions which stated jurors should not feel obligated to go along with others if they don’t believe their conclusions.

The second trial began May 28 with two days of jury selection. A total of 87 potential jurors were called in an effort to select 12 jurors who would not be biased by news reports of the investigations and the first two Lazcano trials.

Judge Frazier had delayed a decision on the change of venue motion until he could determine if a jury could be seated. He formally denied the motion near the end of jury selection May 29.

Two major differences in the Daniel Lazcano trials unfolded Thursday, June 6, when Tracy opted not to cross-examine the defendant after he again testified in his own defense. At the first trial, Tracy launched a blistering cross examination while showing the AK-47 rifle believed to be the murder weapon.

Daniel Lazcano again testified that he became upset when he and his brother headed for Malden late that afternoon to confront Schur about taking their property from a house in Rosalia. Daniel Lazcano testified again he was dropped off at the Malden home of James Landron, known as Uncle Jimmy. He said his uncle and brother Frank then left and later returned with Schur’s body in the trunk of the Ford Escort Daniel had been driving.

Tracy later called Landron as a rebuttal witness, and he testified he had not seen the Lazcanos since a Christmas gathering two days before Schur was fatally shot.