Judge rejects request to reinstate deal

SPOKANE - Daniel Lazcano's third murder trial could have ended before it began Monday, but the presiding judge denied a defense request to reinstate a previous plea agreement.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno issued the ruling prior to beginning jury selection in the third trial.

Moreno took the case after Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier recused himself. The trial is being held in Spokane due to concerns that extensive media coverage of Lazcano's first two trials would make it impossible to find an impartial jury pool in Whitman County.

Things started off Monday with Moreno rejecting a defense motion to reinstate the plea agreement, which would have allowed Lazcano to plead guilty to second-degree manslaughter for the Dec. 27, 2011, shooting death of 23-year-old Marcus Schur.

The agreement was reached with Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy after Lazcano's second mistrial. However, Judge Frazier refused to approve it, saying it would be an "insult" to the justice system and would essentially require him to give his "stamp of approval" to perjured testimony.

"He said the plea agreement wasn't in the interests of justice," Tracy noted in court Monday. "I've never had a plea bargain rejected before, but looking back on this one, I can only agree with Judge Frazier's analysis."

During both previous trials, Lazcano testified that he and his brother, Frank, were looking for Schur because they believed he had stolen some possessions of theirs. He said Frank went to a home in Malden to confront Schur. When Frank went in the front door, Schur ran out the back and was shot by someone else. Lazcano said he stayed at his uncle's house and didn't learn Schur was dead until his brother returned.

Frank Lazcano was found guilty of first-degree murder earlier this year. Both brothers were found guilty of unlawful disposal of human remains for dumping Schur's body in a creek near Bonnie Lake.

Under the manslaughter plea agreement, Lazcano would have faced 21 to 27 months in jail.

His defense team argued that the deal was negotiated in good faith and should be reinstated. They suggested Frazier was biased and based his decision to reject the agreement in part on testimony and evidence that wasn't introduced at trial.

Moreno, however, denied the defense motion, saying it wasn't her job to decide if another Superior Court judge acted inappropriately.

"I'm not going to touch that. That's an issue for the appellate court," she said.

The remainder of the day was spent in jury selection. Only two of the 61 people in the jury pool said they'd heard of the case before.

Opening statements and witness testimony will begin this morning. The trial is expected to last at least two weeks.

Tracy said he intends to call Frank Lazcano as his first witness. Although Frank will likely refuse to testify, Tracy said, he has to take this step before he can question other witnesses about statements Frank allegedly made identifying Daniel as the shooter and indicating he would take the blame for Schur's death to protect his brother.

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Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.