Schawana man pleads not guilty in stabbing

Trial scheduled for June

EPHRATA The trial for a Schawana man accused in the stabbing death of another man has been scheduled for June.

The trial date was scheduled after Marcos Gomez Navarette, 32, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of second-degree intentional murder in the death of 22-year-old Carlos Banos Hernandez.

Hernandez was found dead April 18, face down in the shoulder of the roadway near his home. According to court documents, Hernandez suffered stab wounds to his torso and back, as well as other knife wounds to the underside of his forearms. A blood trail led authorities to his Second Avenue SW home, where the stabbing is believed to have occurred.

Judge Evan Sperline appointed public defenders Brian Gwinn and Ryan Earl to represent Navarette in the case. Earl said after Tuesday s hearing that both he and Gwinn were appointed because of the severity of the crime. The maximum penalty for a conviction for second-degree murder is life imprisonment. Navarette has no prior felony history in Grant County.

Navarette was arrested after, according to court documents, admitting to stabbing Hernandez in the abdomen to investigators. Navarette also led investigators to the alleged weapon used in the crime, an eight-inch butcher knife. Detectives with the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team found the knife last Wednesday during a search of the Saddle Mountain area where Navarette told authorities it was located. It has since been sent to Spokane for testing.

Navarette allegedly confronted Hernandez, according to court documents, because of a situation involving a woman. Navarette told investigators he had been hearing voices talking to him about Hernandez and the woman, and those voices stopped after the stabbing when Navarette left the knife in the mountains area.

During a preliminary appearance in court last week, Prosecutor John Knodell said he believed a cause exists to evaluate Navarette s mental health. Earl declined to comment Tuesday on his client s mental health.

Earl did tell the court during Tuesday s hearing that he would soon file a motion to secure a new interpreter in the case. Superior Court interpreter Victor Guzman translated the proceedings into Spanish both Navarette appeared in court.

We anticipate Victor ultimately being a witness, Earl said.

Earl could not say why he may be called as a witness, but said that it may prove difficult for Guzman to act as an interpreter and also sit as a witness during trial.

Navarette will again appear in court May 24 for a pretrial conference, prior to the scheduled trial date of June 7.