Judge denies Laurint’s motion for new counsel
A county Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a motion by murder suspect Ioan Laurint to replace his court-appointed attorney.
Judge Christopher J. Plourd heard arguments on the motion in a closed door hearing by both Laurint and his defense attorney, county Deputy Public Defender Jason Gundel, and ultimately ruled against Laurint’s motion.
The prosecution and
members of the public were asked to exit the courtroom in El Centro while Plourd heard arguments during the
so-called Marsden motion, and announced his ruling once the hearing was opened to the public again about 10 minutes later.
Plourd’s ruling allowed for Wednesday’s pre-trial hearing to get underway, where counsel notified the court that they were not yet ready to set a trial date, and needed time to review reports related to evidence collected during the execution of a search warrant at the law office of Anne Marie Zimmermann, who Laurint is accused of fatally stabbing on Feb. 17 at a motel room in El Centro.
The evidence in question had been under the review of a court-appointed special master who was tasked with ensuring its presentation to counsel did not violate the attorney-client privileges of Zimmermann’s clients.
“Special masters are unusual in criminal cases but one was necessary in this case because Ms. Zimmermann was a practicing attorney and it was important to protect the interests of her clients,” Gundel stated after Wednesday’s hearing.
Both Gundel and county Assistant District Attorney Deborah Owen indicated to the court on Wednesday that reports related to the seized evidence that were under the special master’s review would become available later that day or today.
“We need some time to evaluate those reports because at this point we both don’t really have any idea what’s in there,” Gundel said, referring to himself and Owen.
Laurint is due back in court Aug. 16 for an additional pre-trial and conference hearing.
During Laurint’s preliminary hearing in April, testimony by an El Centro detective revealed that Laurint had allegedly left a cell phone and an external hard drive at Zimmermann’s law office in El Centro.
The cell phone and external hard drive allegedly contained videos and pictures of Laurint and Zimmermann having sex, and were created to ensure Zimmermann’s husband was aware that Laurint and Zimmermann were having an affair, Detective Luis Hernandez had testified in April.
Hernandez had questioned Laurint while the defendant was hospitalized in San Diego recovering from non-life threatening stab wounds that he had somehow sustained during the fatal incident.
A pair of letters that were found at the Golden West Motel room where Zimmermann’s lifeless body and an injured Laurint were also found had allegedly made reference to the pictures and video and where they could be found, Hernandez had testified in April.