The attorneys for Brent Luyster, who’s accused of fatally shooting three people at a Woodland home in July, argue the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and juvenile detention staff have been interfering with their investigation.
Luyster’s capital defense team filed a motion last week in Clark County Superior Court asking Judge Robert Lewis to intervene. Vancouver attorney Ed Dunkerly said Tuesday that a supervisor at the juvenile detention center denied him access to interview Luyster’s son, an apparent witness to the triple-homicide.
Luyster, 35, a known white supremacist, is accused of killing Joseph Mark Lamar, 38; Zachary David Thompson, 36; and Janell Renee Knight, 43, on July 15 at a rural home southeast of Woodland. A fourth victim, Breanne L.A. Leigh, 31, was critically wounded. Luyster was apprehended the following day along Ocean Beach Highway, west of Longview.
His girlfriend, 27-year-old Andrea Sibley, picked him up at the home and helped him go on the lam, court records state. She pleaded guilty in September to first-degree rendering criminal assistance and was sentenced to a year of community custody.
Luyster’s 12-year-old son was recently in custody at the juvenile detention center in an unrelated case. It’s unclear if he is still there.
When the defense went to interview the boy, Dunkerly said, he was told by detention staff that he needs permission from the prosecution. The boy later reportedly told his counsel he does not want to speak with his father’s defense team.
Dunkerly argued that the interference is affecting his client’s right to effective counsel and said the case could be delayed if they continue to be denied access to the witness.
Lewis declined to make a general ruling on the motion. He said the defense can come back before the court if additional issues arise regarding access to witnesses.
Lead defense attorney Bob Yoseph requested that Luyster’s arraignment be pushed back a third time while his team conducts further investigation. The new date was set for Feb. 14.
Luyster faces three counts of aggravated first-degree murder with the use of a firearm, attempted first-degree murder with the use of a firearm, and first- and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. A charge of aggravated murder carries the possibility of the death penalty.
In 2014, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee placed a moratorium on executions in the state while he’s in office. However, it doesn’t prevent the prosecution from pursuing the death penalty. Deputy Prosecutor James Smith said Tuesday that decision has not yet been made.
