CHARLESTON, West Virginia -
UPDATE
Pre-trial motions ended Wednesday afternoon with Judge Duke Bloom ordering two cell phones of potential witnesses being taken to determine if there were any texts that could be helpful to defense attorneys.
Darrell Spurlock testified that he came to Marty Walker's garage and saw Shawn Lester smoking marijuana with all three sniper victims.
He never came forward with what he saw, because, he claimed, he was never asked.
Police came to his property, but only to ask about his vehicles.
Public Defender George Castelle argued several witnesses did not have their statements properly documented at the time of the initial investigation. That could have, Castelle alleged, damaged the defense of Lester.
Jury questionairres are due on July 9th. The trial begins at the end of July.
UPDATE
A retired U.S. Marshal testified in court this morning that Shawn Lester admitted to being present for at least one of the three sniper-style killings in 2003.
The marshal said Lester was present for the shooting at the Speedway station.
The marshal was investigating Lester for possible federal weapons law violations when he confessed to being at the Speedway during the shooting. Lester denied to the marshal that he pulled the trigger.
The marshal also testified that he informed other law enforcement agencies that Lester could be linked to all three of the murders. When the marshal turned the information over to the FBI, an agent told him "let the professionals handle it."
Lester's attorney asked that the testimony be banned from the case because of a lack of documentation.
ORIGINAL STORY
The man accused in the 2003 Kanawha Valley sniper killings was in court for pretrial testimony this morning.
Shawn Lester is accused of killing Gary Carrier, 44, Jeanie Patton, 31, and Okey Meadows, 26.
His trial is slated to begin July 30.
WOWK-TV's David Iversen is in court and will bring you details later this morning.
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