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Renfro hearing taking place today

Ralph Bartholdt Hagadone News Network | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 years, 5 months AGO
by Ralph Bartholdt Hagadone News Network
| August 15, 2017 1:00 AM

COEUR d’ALENE — Prosecutors in the county’s most high profile murder case will try to persuade a First District Court judge today to allow their experts to conduct psychological tests on Jonathan D. Renfro without his counsel present.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh asked District Judge Lansing L. Haynes to let the state’s experts interview and conduct psychological testing of Renfro, who is accused in the 2015 killing of Coeur d’Alene Police Sgt. Greg Moore. He faces the death penalty if he’s found guilty of first-degree murder.

The state asked that the interview, testing, or videos of either not be released to Renfro’s attorneys.

Haynes called for a hearing this morning to entertain the motion, apprising the state it must explain why it doesn’t want the recordings released to Renfro’s defense counsel.

“I’m going to expect the state to be prepared to offer justification,” Haynes said.

In a Monday afternoon hearing, McHugh and defense attorney Linda Payne said they were satisfied financial evidence regarding the cost of experts hired for the trial by the state and public defenders had been disclosed. It had earlier been a point of contention requiring Haynes to order both sides disclose the costs by this week.

Payne said so far, however, her experts had not been able to examine a jacket Renfro wore on the night of the shooting because the state’s experts were still conducting tests on the jacket.

She had asked the state to turn over the jacket last month, so defense experts could examine a pocket where, public defenders said, Renfro kept the handgun that allegedly fired the shot that killed Moore.

At Monday’s hearing, Payne said she had not seen a final report from state investigators regarding the jacket.

“We’re confident the bullet came out of the pocket,” she said. “They have taken the pocket completely off; the pocket has been destroyed.”

She asked the state to turn over its test results.

McHugh said it appeared the bullet was fired from the pocket.

“Every indication is that it was, at this point,” he said.

Gunshot residue from the pocket is still being tested, he said.

“This is ongoing.” he said.

He promised to keep public defenders apprised of test result, and Haynes said he would issue an order if defense counsel thought it necessary.

Renfro’s Sept. 11 trial is expected to last around six weeks, with two weeks set aside for both jury selection, and for the prosecutors to present their case.

Renfro, 29, did not appear at Monday’s proceeding but he is expected to be present at today’s hearing. He is being held in the Kootenai County jail without bond.

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