Oscar Lemus-Franco (PC: Fox 11 Online)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A trial won’t be needed to determined Oscar Lemus-Franco’s mental responsibility for killing two family members, his attorney said, but details of how the case could be resolved have not been released.
Lemus-Franco, 33, previously pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide for the Sept. 28, 2020, murders of Gerson Alvarez-Franco and Jaime Lemus at a home on Clement Street. He also was convicted of reckless injury for attacking a police officer after his arrest.
However, he also pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. A Jan. 28 trial is scheduled, where the jury would consider if Lemus-Franco should be held criminally liable for his actions; the jury would determine if Lemus-Franco could discern right from wrong. If he were held criminally liable, he would face mandatory life prison terms. If the jury determined he suffered from a mental disease at the time, he would be committed to a secure mental health facility.
Now, however, it appears that trial won’t be needed, according to a letter to the court by defense attorney Amanda Toonen.
“The purpose of this letter is to alert the court that the parties have reached a joint resolution as to the mental responsibility phase and sentence structure. As such, we are respectfully requesting that the January 10 final pretrial be converted to a sentencing hearing or that we use January 10 to schedule the sentencing hearing,” Toonen wrote.
The letter does not disclose what the joint resolution or sentence structure would be, however.
Prosecutors have not filed anything on the topic.
The hearing is 1:30 p.m. Friday before Judge Timothy Hinkfuss.
The case has been delayed repeatedly by competency issues, as Lemus-Franco was receiving psychiatric treatment in order to be able understand the court proceedings and assist in his own defense.
Comments