Judge upset case isn’t ready, delays Pasco murder trial

A Franklin County judge said Tuesday that she is postponing a murder trial a week because there’s no time to address newly raised issues.

Nathan T. Quintero, 25, and Jaden F. Quintero, 19, now will face a jury May 22 on one count each of first-degree murder.

The defense attorneys wanted to stick with the May 15 date, and told Judge Carrie Runge that their clients objected to any delay.

However, Runge questioned if there’s enough time for the defense to file motions, prosecutors to respond, and the court to hear arguments and rule with less than two weeks before trial.

Her court calendar is full next week, which then leaves everything to be done at the last minute when jurors are on standby.

“When is it going to be done? That’s what I want to know and that’s where we are at,” Runge said.

The brothers are accused of shooting George Garcia Thacker five times, possibly at close range with his own gun.

The 18-year-old’s body was found Oct. 7, 2015, a few feet from his car on West River Street in Pasco, near the cable bridge.

Attorneys Scott Johnson and Ryan Swinburnson had depositions scheduled with 20 officers over three days, and told the court that one officer didn’t show and four others ignored their subpoenas.

Johnson added that he recently learned information about two officers that could affect the case, and said he needs to do some more digging before deciding to file a motion.

Runge noted that pretrial motions are supposed to be argued during pretrial hearings, but Tuesday’s hearing was “not meaningful” because the defense was not ready.

She added that she knows they’re doing work behind the scenes to get prepared for trial, but said it puts court administrators in a tough position when lawyers want to squeeze in another hearing date.

This story was originally published May 2, 2017 at 8:41 PM with the headline "Judge upset case isn’t ready, delays Pasco murder trial."