Findings of mental evaluation will not be contested
Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008
BENTONVILLE - Defense attorneys for one of the two men accused of killing Randall Walker will not contest the findings of a mental evaluation of their client.
Brandon Lacy, 29, of Rogers, and Broderick Laswell, 19, of Farmington, are charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery, both class Y felonies.
Mental evaluations found both men did not have a mental disease or defect and are competent to stand trial.
On Monday, attorneys for Lacy said they would not contest Lacy's mental competency.
Walker's burned body was found Aug. 30, 2007, in his residence at 18425 Beaver Hollow Road. Firefighters who responded to a call found the body in a bedroom, where the fire began.
A medical examiner's preliminary findings show Walker died from blunt-force trauma, as well as from stab wounds to the chest and neck. The medical examiner found Walker was dead at the time of the fire.
Lacy contacted Rogers police and claimed he had committed a murder, according to court documents. Lacy was arrested Sept. 3, 2007, for public intoxication at a Rogers restaurant. While being taken to jail, Lacy again claimed he had murdered Walker, court documents state.
Lacy admitted to hitting Walker over the head with a fireplace poker. Lacy initially refused to identify a friend he claimed hit Walker twice in the head with a metal bar, an affidavit states. Lacy later identified the friend as Laswell. Laswell then admitted to hitting Walker over the head twice with a weight-set bar, according to court documents.
Lacy got a gasoline container from a garage, dumped gasoline on a bed, then set the fire, court documents state.
The two men then went to Beaver Lake, where they cleaned off in the water and threw the fireplace poker and shovel into the lake, court records state. They also burned their clothes, and Walker's wallet, after taking $ 20 from it, the affidavit states.
A suppression hearing for both men is set for Sept. 4.
If convicted of capital murder, the men face possible death sentences or life in prison. The punishment for aggravated robbery is a sentence ranging from 10 to 40 years or life in prison.
Prosecutors have announced their intention to seek the death penalty for both suspects.
Lacy and Laswell are being held without bond in the Benton County Jail.
On Monday, attorneys for Lacy filed several standard motions in death-penalty cases seeking to have the punishment declared unconstitutional.
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