Carson City murder trial postponed to March

The trial for the six defendants accused in the murder of a Carson City man in January is scheduled for March.

Reed Skenandore, 21; Jesus Garcia-Manriquez, 18; Allen Garcia-Manriquez, 19; Jonathan Skenandore, 18; Daniel Lease, 20; and Jacob Huttman, 19 are all charged in connection with the Jan. 11 murder of 18-year-old Grant Watkins.

Watkins was killed after being shot in the abdomen in an early morning drug deal-turned-robbery, detectives said. Detectives believe Watkins was meeting with Reed Skenandore, Jesus Garcia-Manriquez, Keenan Blackmore, Jonathan Skenandore and Huttman around 12:30 a.m. at Blackwell’s Pond Park to sell the men three ounces of marijuana when Reed Skenandore allegedly shot Watkins. It was alleged in court during the preliminary hearing that Allen Garcia-Manriquez helped drive his brother to the scene and Daniel Lease helped Reed Skenandore dispose of the firearms and clothing used that night.

The trial was originally set to run Sept. 7 through Oct. 12, however, the case has been postponed until March 27 said Assistant District Attorney Kristin Luis. The jury trial is anticipated to run for about six weeks.

Reed Skenandore, Jesus Garcia-Manriquez and Jacob Huttman are charged with felony murder with a deadly weapon, felony robbery with a deadly weapon, felony assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder and destruction of evidence. Jonathan Skenandore was originally just charged with conspiracy and accessory charges related to the incident, but after the testimonies given, the District Attorney amended the charges after the preliminary hearing to felony murder with a deadly weapon, felony robbery with a deadly weapon, felony assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder and destruction of evidence as well. Allen Garcia-Manriquez is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, accessory to murder and accessory to robbery and Daniel Lease was charged with accessory to murder and accessory to robbery.

The six entered not-guilty pleas in March and it was implied at the time the September trial date wouldn’t happen due to possible plea deals.

Currently, all six are still scheduled to stand trial, though Luis said she expects things to change as possible plea negotiations could happen closer to the trial date.

Two others were arrested in connection with the murder: Keenan Blackmore, 19, and a 17-year-old juvenile who were at the scene. Blackmore took a deal with the District Attorney’s Office in March and testified against the defendants in the preliminary hearing.