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Pasco Shooting Inquest Preparations Ramping Up

Olivia Weitz
The public is getting batches of documents from the Franklin Country Procecutor's office on the special police investigation into the Pasco Police shooting of Antonio Zambrano-Montes.

The Franklin County prosecutor is expected to release a second batch of documents and details Wednesday in the police shooting of Antonio Zambrano-Montes in Pasco, Washington.

Zambrano-Montes was shot dead in a crowded intersection in February. Now preparations are underway for the Franklin County coroner’s inquest that will put all those details before a jury.

An inquest can inform a prosecutor’s decision about whether to file charges in a death. Coroner Dan Blasdel wants the case to be transparent.

But Blasdel is having a difficult time trying to find a courtroom for his inquest. Blasdel said the Franklin County Courthouse told him they’re full, and the City of Pasco said absolutely not.

Blasdel said finding an unbiased jury could also be challenging. There will be six jurors and one alternate.

“I’m just afraid that prospective jurors are going to make up their minds by seeing really limited stuff that’s been released from the investigation,” Blasedel said.

Blasdel said he plans to hold the inquest in September.

Anna King calls Richland, Washington home and loves unearthing great stories about people in the Northwest. She reports for the Northwest News Network from a studio at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. She covers the Mid-Columbia region, from nuclear reactors to Mexican rodeos.