A Washington state appeals court upheld the first-degree murder conviction and 25-year prison sentence of Frank Lazcano on Tuesday after it ruled against his argument of double jeopardy.
Lazcano was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2013 in Whitman County Superior Court for his role in the murder of 23-year-old Marcus Schur at a Malden residence. Lazcano's brother, 22-year-old Daniel Lazcano, was also found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to 27 years in prison in January 2014.
Prosecutors said the Lazcanos tracked down and confronted Schur at a Malden residence as retaliation for a burglary he had committed against them in December 2011. Both admitted during their trials to dumping Schur's body in a creek in the Hole in the Ground area in northern Whitman County.
In his appeal, Lazcano argued the state charged and convicted him of first-degree murder based on the same events that led to a trespassing conviction he had pleaded guilty to, however, the appeals court ruled it was too late for Lazcano to bring up the double jeopardy argument and that it should have been done at trial.
