Brent Luyster Jr.’s court hearing came to an abrupt end Tuesday after the teenage homicide suspect launched into an expletive-laden rant about the media, and cursed at and disparaged the judge.
The 17-year-old made a first appearance via Zoom in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of his stepfather. He is being held in juvenile detention but was automatically remanded to adult court based on his age and the nature of the allegation.
Judge Suzan Clark set Luyster’s bail at $1 million — the amount requested by the prosecution.
Luyster’s outburst came after his court-appointed defense attorney, Michele Michalek, said the media is not to disseminate images of him without permission. Clark responded that media, present in the courtroom, had permission, which prompted Luyster to yell, “(Expletive) the media. (Expletive) the media. The media ain’t (expletive).”
When the judge interrupted Luyster, he said, “(Expletive) you, (expletive).” He continued to curse at and disparage her as he was led away from the camera.
Clark told Michalek she needs to have a conversation with Luyster about courtroom decorum, and if he has another outburst he could be held in contempt.
The teenage son and namesake of convicted triple murderer Brent Luyster was arrested early Monday morning at a residence in Amboy.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the teen told a neighbor he stabbed his stepfather, identified as Luther M. Moore, 48, and thought he was dead. The neighbor called 911 and said Luyster told him that Moore was beating him with a broomstick.
Clark County sheriff’s deputies responded shortly after midnight to 28013 N.E. 419th St., Unit 1, for the reported assault, emergency dispatch records show. There, they found Luyster with blood on his clothing and a minor injury to his hand, the affidavit says.
Moore was found lying in the doorway of the residence with visible stab wounds to his back and side, the court document states.
Investigators said Luyster declined to speak with them without an attorney present.
However, detectives could hear Luyster identifying himself in the recorded 911 call. He could also be heard saying that his stepfather was drunk and attacking him with a broom. Luyster reportedly said he stabbed his stepfather, and the knife broke off inside of him, according to the affidavit.
On Tuesday morning, Michalek, who’s previously represented Luyster, said he has a case for self-defense. She said he was the one who initiated the 911 call and stayed at the scene.
He is scheduled to be arraigned June 4.
Prior offense
Luyster was sentenced in September to 15 to 36 weeks in a juvenile facility after he slashed at and threatened to kill a man in May 2020 in central Vancouver. No one was injured. He had been released from a juvenile facility about a month before that attack and was on parole.
The prosecution noted at the time that Luyster was receiving a “really big break,” with a plea deal for third-degree assault in Clark County Juvenile Court.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the prosecution said Luyster has numerous other juvenile convictions, including first- and second-degree robbery, possession of a stolen firearm, third-degree malicious mischief and fourth-degree assault.
When he was 13, Luyster was briefly held in contempt of court after refusing to testify at his father’s triple-murder trial in November 2017. The ruling prompted an explosive outburst from the teen outside the presence of the jury.
The elder Luyster was on trial for the July 2016 murders of his best friend, Zachary David Thompson, 36; friend Joseph Mark LaMar, 38; and LaMar’s partner, Janell Renee Knight, 43, at LaMar’s home southeast of Woodland. He also shot Thompson’s partner, Breanne Leigh, then 32, in the face, but she survived.
The younger Luyster was an apparent eyewitness to the shootings.
The jury later convicted his father of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and one count each of first- and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Luyster, 40, received three life sentences without the possibility of release, plus another nearly 54 years to run consecutively.
The elder Luyster, a known white supremacist, was convicted a year later on federal firearms charges and sentenced to serve another 10 years. A state database shows he is incarcerated at Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen.
