Triple-murder suspect Brent Ward Luyster was back in Clark County Superior Court on Monday morning, with his attorney requesting a second defense attorney to assist with the case.
Vancouver defense attorney Chuck Buckley told the judge that, although he believed he could handle the case solo, there are a number of issues that make it more complex than he initially thought.
Luyster, 36, a known white supremacist, is accused of fatally shooting three people and injuring a fourth at a Woodland home in July. He’s also accused in an attempted escape from the Clark County Jail in February.
He’s facing three counts of aggravated first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first- and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a weapon by a jail inmate, first-degree malicious mischief and attempted second-degree escape. Aggravated murder is the only charge in Washington that carries the possibility of capital punishment. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced earlier this year it will not seek the death penalty in the case.
Judge Robert Lewis seemed surprised by Buckley’s request Monday, because he previously denied Luyster’s former attorneys the opportunity to both stay on as counsel.
Bob Yoseph and Ed Dunkerly withdrew as Luyster’s counsel during arraignment in March after Lewis ruled only one could stay on the case, in light of the prosecution’s decision not to pursue capital punishment. At the time, Lewis said having two attorneys would be an unnecessary cost to taxpayers.
Yoseph told The Columbian afterward that no one attorney can handle the case alone, and in his motion, argued that the case is complex.
Lewis told Buckley that he would take his request under advisement. He did not indicate when he would make a decision.
As a separate matter, Buckley also requested that the charges in the alleged attempted jail escape be severed from the charges in the murder case. A hearing to address that issue was scheduled for July 11.
About 20 family members and friends of the shooting victims — Joseph Mark Lamar, 38, Zachary David Thompson, 36, and Janell Renee Knight, 43 — including the lone survivor, Breanne L.A. Leigh, 32, attended the hearing.
