Loukaitis May Get New Judge His Lawyer Says Local Judges Are Too Close To The Tragedy

In a small town, everyone is affected by the aftermath of murder. Even judges.

That’s what a Moses Lake attorney argued in court Tuesday, when he asked Grant County’s two Superior Court judges and one court commissioner to remove themselves from the case against Barry Loukaitis.

A visiting judge will be brought in to decide if the local judges should step aside.

Loukaitis, 14, is accused of shooting his junior high school math teacher and three students Feb. 2.

A hearing to decide whether Loukaitis will be tried as an adult was delayed Tuesday because of defense attorney Garth Dano’s request. Loukaitis is charged with three counts of aggravated murder and one count of first-degree assault.

“A case with this much notoriety, three deceased victims and judges who are from the same community - a community this distraught and upset - warrants their recusal,” Dano said. “It’s probably not fair to Barry to have these judges hear this case.”

Whether that’s true or not will be up to a judge from one of eight surrounding counties.

Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline said he’d ask a visiting judge to hear Dano’s request within a week. Sperline did not agree to remove himself or any other Grant County judge from the case until that hearing can take place.

Loukaitis is accused of entering his math classroom at Frontier Junior High School and gunning down teacher Leona Caires, 49, and students Manuel Vela, 14, and Arnold Fritz, 15. Thirteen-year-old Natalie Hintz was wounded.

Prosecutor John Knodell objected to the defense motion.

“We’re just delaying justice,” Knodell said. “The community has a right to see closure as swiftly as possible.”

After determining what judge will handle the case, Dano said, he plans to ask that all hearings involving his client be closed to the public and media. He wants an order forbidding attorneys to discuss the case and a ban on photographing or videotaping Loukaitis.

The teenager was not in court Tuesday. He remained in the nearby juvenile detention center, where he has been under a 24-hour suicide watch since his arrest immediately after the shootings.

“I don’t want to put him in front of the media any more than I have to,” Dano said. “The prejudice against my client is very grave.”

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