Judge rejects plea revival: Third Daniel Lazcano trial begins in Spokane County

The third murder trial for Daniel Lazcano started Monday in Spokane with a ruling on a motion by Lazcano’s attorneys to place a plea bargain agreement back on the docket. Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno, who is presiding over Lazcano’s third trial, rejected the motion according to a report Tuesday by William Spence who is covering the trial for the Lewiston Morning Tribune.

Seating of Spokane County jurors began after the ruling. The third trial was moved to Spokane County because of concern of seating a third panel of jurors from the limited pool of potential jurors on Whitman County voter rolls.

Over the past few weeks, witnesses who testified at the first two trials here have been sent subpeonas to testify in Spokane where the trial is expected to continue into next week.

The Daniel Lazcano plea bargain was soundly rejected last July 19 by Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier. At the time, Judge Frazier called the plea bargain an insult to the justice system.

Lazcano’s defense attorneys last week filed a motion for the Spokane judge to reconsider the plea bargain, which called for Lazcano to plead guilty to second degree man-slaughter and serve a sentence of 21 to 27 months in prison.

Among other arguments, the defense argued Judge Frazier in his July 19 ruling, cited evidence which had not been before the court in the two Daniel Lazcano trials.

A transcript of Judge Frazier’s ruling was filed with the motion.

Monday, Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy filed a response to the motion. Tracy pointed out that the state, after hearing Judge Frazier’s rejection in July, no longer desires to reduce the murder charge against Daniel Lazcano.

The charge involves the shooting death of Marcus Schur, 23, in an alley in Malden Dec. 27, 2011.

Tracy’s response Monday also noted Judge Frazier during his July ruling referred to pre-trial hearings in the Daniel Lazcano case. One hearing involved a pre-trial motion to suppress evidence and the other hearing involved a motion to change defense attorneys.

The record on the change of attorneys was sealed under attorney-client rules, and the suppression hearing concluded with Judge Frazier suppressing evidence from an alleged confession which was part of the investigation.

Tracy also pointed out Judge Frazier made the ruling after he presided at two trials in which Daniel Lazcano testified he was not even present at the shooting scene in Malden. The defense in those two trials presented a version of the shooting in which Daniel was dropped off at the residence of his uncle in Malden while the uncle and Daniel’s brother, Frank Lazcano, went to the shooting scene.

Under the plea agreement presented to the court in July, Daniel Lazcano was prepared to admit he did the shooting in the alley at Malden almost two years ago.

After the first trial of Daniel Lazcano, his brother, Frank, was convicted of felony murder and later sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The felony involved in the conviction was Frank Lazcano’s forced entry into a Malden residence where Schur was present for a group dinner. Schur fled out the back of the residence and was shot in the alley behind the residence.

Schur was missing until his body was found March 25, 2012, in the outlet creek of Bonnie Lake near Hole-In-The-Ground.

Testimony at both trials revealed the Lazcano brothers put Schur’s body in the back of a Ford Escort and later dropped it in the creek below Bonnie Lake.

Both of the brothers have been convicted of a related charge of unlawful disposal of human remains.