Wilber Martinez-Guzman, from El Salvador, appears in Washoe District Court room in Reno, Nev., on Monday, May 20, 2019. Martinez-Guzman faces murder, burglary and weapons charges in the deaths of four people in northern Nevada in January. (Andy Barron/Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, Pool)
RENO, Nev. (AP) – Lawyers for a Salvadoran immigrant charged with killing four people urged a judge on Monday to dismiss some of the charges and throw out his confession, citing procedural errors.
Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman faces murder, burglary and weapons charges in the deaths of four people in northern Nevada in January.
His public defenders say the Washoe County grand jury lacked legal jurisdiction to indict him for two of the January killings that occurred in Douglas County. They say prosecutors also failed to provide the necessary supporting evidence to allow the jury to hear testimony that Martinez-Guzman confessed to fatally shooting and stealing from the victims to support a drug habit.
“The grand jury in Washoe County exceeded its powers,” said John Arrascada, Washoe County’s chief public defender.
“We could be back here in 20 years to address this issue of process. We need to start this case off properly,” he said. “We’re not saying this case cannot at some point be joined, but that’s somewhere down the road.”