Day 3 of Edwin Lara motions hearing: Police officers testify

On Wednesday’s third day of murder defendant Edwin Lara’s week-long hearing on pre-trial motions, the defense challenged the admissibility of Lara’s apparent confession last July 26 to killing Kaylee Sawyer and the evidence collected in the wake of that confession.

Witnesses included a corrections officer from the Tehama County, Calif., Jail, where Lara was held after his arrest in California, plus several police officers and sergeants.

The defense, as they did Tuesday, questioned whether Lara was given access to a phone and attorney in a timely manner.

After being taken into the jail, Lara asked, “When do I get a lawyer?” The context of that question was discussed with the officer to whom the question was directed.

The officer said he interpreted it as procedural in nature, as opposed to demanding.

Several officers from the Bend and Redmond police departments who were on duty in the hours and days following Sawyer’s disappearance also testified.

Each one started by outlining the activities of the day, some of which included searching for the then-missing woman. But one account painted a chilling search-and-rescue scene.

“Basically, just outside the parking lot, what was reported to me was something that was consistent with blood — and evidence of dragging,” Deschutes County Emergency Manager Sgt. Nathan Garibay said Wednesday.

Sawyer’s body was found west of Redmond in a canyon off the side of Highway 126.

Lara, facing aggravated murder charges, currently is scheduled to go on trial in October 2018.