Lozeau trial to be held out of area
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POLSON — Judge James A. Manley has ordered a change of venue to a county outside western Montana to ensure Harry Lozeau gets a fair trial. Lozeau is accused of killing his brother, Terry Lozeau, on June 14, 2014.
On June 25, 2014, Lozeau pleaded not guilty to felony charges of deliberate homicide and assault with a weapon. On Jan. 21, 2015, Lozeau changed his plea and entered a guilty plea to homicide charges. The court found him guilty and dismissed the assault with a weapon charge.
Then on April 1, Lozeau withdrew his guilty plea and a trial was set for Sept. 8. On June 1, Lozeau’s attorney requested a trial in a venue outside of the region due to extensive media coverage.
“Because the publications cover the entire region from which the jury pool will be drawn, the offending publicity has the potential for greater impact on the right to a fair trial,” Lozeau’s attorney Randi M. Hood wrote in the motion to change venue.
In Judge Manley’s Aug. 3 order to change the venue, he wrote the court was “inclined to grant the venue motions, if that can be done without significant additional delay.”