Coroner: Inquest into Pasco man’s death delayed until next year

It’s likely that a scheduled inquest into the shooting death of Antonio Zambrano-Montes by Pasco police won’t take place until early next year.

Franklin County Coroner Dan Blasdel, who called the inquest in hopes of providing transparency in the case, told the Herald that working out the schedules of witnesses and other coroners will delay the process.

Blasdel had originally thought the inquest would happen before the end of the year.

Blasdel, who will oversee the proceedings, recently met with other coroners around the state and some agreed to help with the inquest, he said. The coroners could act as bailiffs, security and media liaisons.

“The support from the coroners is awesome,” Blasdel said. “The coroners all needed to support me, because if I was not successful in having the inquest it would make it more difficult for coroners around the state (to hold inquests) in cases with less visibility.”

Having the coroners involved will cut down the overall cost of the inquest, which will be paid for by the county, Blasdel said.

The inquest will give a jury of six the opportunity to make a recommendation as to whether the shooting of Zambrano-Montes, 35, was justified. Jurors will also decide the cause and manner of death in the shooting, which was captured on video.

Evidence will be presented at the proceedings and witnesses are expected to testify. The inquest could take up to two weeks.

Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant has the option to participate and present evidence.

Inquests are rare for the area and are usually called by coroners for prosecutors to get more facts about a case before making a charging decision. There have been seven held in Benton and Franklin counties since 1990.

Zambrano-Montes was fired on 17 times by three Pasco police officers during a Feb. 10 confrontation at an intersection. The officers have been cleared criminally and by their department of any wrongdoing.

Sant and lawyers for the Zambrano-Montes family have spoken out against an inquest, saying it is unnecessary and likely to produce no new information.

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Coroner: Inquest into Pasco man’s death delayed until next year."