By Dawn Bowen
dawn@geringcitizen.com
Legal counsel for the suspect in the murder of James Mendoza of Scottsbluff has asked for a court ruling to suppress evidence including statements his client made to police before his arrest.
Artie William Lowery, 19, of Scottsbluff, was in District Court on Friday as testimony was given by a number of law enforcement officers who investigated the Aug. 30 stabbing. A court decision on the pending request to suppress evidence is expected in March.
Lowery’s attorney Kelly Breen of Lincoln had filed motions in District Court on Dec. 31 along with County Attorney Tiffany Wasserburger who filed a motion seeking the consolidation of Lowery’s case and the case involving his brother, Joseph Lowery, who is charged with being an accessory to a felony.
Among other requests, Breen has asked the court to suppress “any and all pretrial statements, admissions or confessions” which Artie Lowery may not have made voluntarily to police, or which were made without a clear understanding of his rights.
Breen is also seeking a suppression of any items of evidence that were taken by police from Artie Lowery’s garage or residence in Scottsbluff. In his motion, Breen asserts that the search and seizure of the property was conducted with an unlawful warrant that had been issued based on information gathered from informants who had not demonstrated reliability.
A separate motion also filed by Breen on Dec. 31 seeks the suppression of wiretap evidence. Breen states in the motion that communications between Artie Lowery and other persons were intercepted without his permission and without probable cause.
Artie Lowery is charged with second degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony in the stabbing of Mendoza, who was a 2008 graduate of Gering High School and an employee at Panhandle Concrete. Joseph Lowery and Artie’s wife Rozlyn Lowery, age 17, as well as a 14-year-old girl who lived with the Lowerys are charged with being accessories to a felony.
The charges stem from Mendoza’s stabbing death that occurred on Sunday, Aug. 30, in a residential area of Scottsbluff. According to court records, police were called to the 3200 block of Avenue D just after 10 p.m., initially for a reported disturbance and motor vehicle accident. Officers found Mendoza lying on a private driveway next to his damaged vehicle and discovered that he had been stabbed multiple times.
During the investigation that followed, police viewed tape from a security camera at Wal-Mart that showed two young men believed to be Artie Lowery and Mendoza involved in a physical fight just minutes before calls came in about the disturbance. Several people in the Wal-Mart parking lot intervened and stopped the fight, then the men left the area in separate vehicles, court records state.
Artie Lowery initially admitted to having been involved in the fight at Wal-Mart, but denied any involvement in the stabbing. Later, during a subsequent interview with police, he allegedly admitted his involvement in the stabbing and provided a written confession to police. In that confession, he stated that Mendoza approached him with a knife at the intersection of 33rd Street and Avenue D and a physical fight ensued. Artie Lowery told police he gained control of the knife during the fight and stabbed Mendoza. He told police he did not intend to kill Mendoza and said he was sorry, a criminal complaint states.
Members of Mendoza’s family have disputed that Mendoza was the aggressor in the incident, stating that he was not someone who would purposely get involved in something that would lead to an assault. Mendoza’s aunt, Mary Holmquist, has maintained that her nephew was fleeing from Lowery shortly before the stabbing occurred.
Artie Lowery was arrested on Monday, Aug. 31, and held on a $250,000 bond. Subsequent requests for a bond reduction were not approved in District Court. He waived a preliminary hearing and was bound over for trial in District Court on Sept. 15.
Friday’s testimony given by local, area and state law enforcement officers and a corrections officer concluded around 1 p.m. Attorneys for the prosecution and the defense are expected to submit written briefs concerning the motions by the third week of February. Reply briefs are expected the first week of March and a court decision is expected later in March.