DARLINGTON - A plea deal appears unlikely in the case against an Argyle 18-year-old charged with helping his brother set a house fire that killed three young boys, his attorney says.
Jeremy Wand is scheduled to go to trial before a jury from an outside county starting July 13. He appeared in court Friday, May 10 for a status conference on the case.
His 33-year-old brother Armin Wand III was sentenced last month to three life sentences, without the possibility of parole, for the deaths of his three young sons in the Sept. 7 house fire in Argyle. The older brother entered a plea deal that stipulates he must testify against his brother if asked.
Outside the courtroom after Friday's hearing, public defender Frank Medina said Jeremy Wand's case so far is moving forward without a plea deal.
"We haven't had any offers to resolve the case. They're playing hardball," he said of prosecutors Roy Korte and Richard Dufour.
An additional attorney was added recently to represent Jeremy Wand.
"It's a big case. I just needed a little help," Medina said. Jefferson-based attorney Miguel Michel is now also assigned to represent Wand.
Medina withdrew a motion Friday to suppress statements Jeremy Wand made to investigators in the days after the fire that killed his nephews Allen Wand, 7, Jeffery Wand, 5, and Joseph "Jo Jo" Wand, 3, and severely burned his sister-in-law, Sharon Wand, 27. Medina said he and Michel may refile the motion after Michel has had a chance to review it with him.
"It depends on what we find. We're not going to file a frivolous motion," he said.
Jeremy Wand, who lived nearby in Argyle with his parents, agreed to help his brother set the lethal fire in exchange for a $300 cut of the family's life insurance settlement, according to state investigators. He has been held since the fire at the Lafayette County Jail on a $1.2 million bond.
At her husband's sentencing last month, Sharon Wand submitted a statement that detailed the physical and psychological abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband in the year or so before the fire. She did not mention her brother-in-law, Jeremy Wand, in her statement.
Medina is eager not to have the older brother equated with his client.
"I don't want Jeremy painted with the same brush," he said to Judge Thomas Vale, in a discussion of which questions will be allowed on the jury questionnaire.
The judge ruled that a question about domestic violence should stay on the questionnaire, despite Medina's objection that his client "has not been involved in domestic violence."
Prosecutor Roy Korte successfully argued the question is neutral and does not condemn Jeremy Wand.
Medina said after the hearing that Wand "seems OK" after eight months in jail, but "he's concerned."
"Armin got the full weight of the law," Medina said. "I'd be more concerned if he said, 'No big deal.'"
Jeremy Wand is scheduled to go to trial before a jury from an outside county starting July 13. He appeared in court Friday, May 10 for a status conference on the case.
His 33-year-old brother Armin Wand III was sentenced last month to three life sentences, without the possibility of parole, for the deaths of his three young sons in the Sept. 7 house fire in Argyle. The older brother entered a plea deal that stipulates he must testify against his brother if asked.
Outside the courtroom after Friday's hearing, public defender Frank Medina said Jeremy Wand's case so far is moving forward without a plea deal.
"We haven't had any offers to resolve the case. They're playing hardball," he said of prosecutors Roy Korte and Richard Dufour.
An additional attorney was added recently to represent Jeremy Wand.
"It's a big case. I just needed a little help," Medina said. Jefferson-based attorney Miguel Michel is now also assigned to represent Wand.
Medina withdrew a motion Friday to suppress statements Jeremy Wand made to investigators in the days after the fire that killed his nephews Allen Wand, 7, Jeffery Wand, 5, and Joseph "Jo Jo" Wand, 3, and severely burned his sister-in-law, Sharon Wand, 27. Medina said he and Michel may refile the motion after Michel has had a chance to review it with him.
"It depends on what we find. We're not going to file a frivolous motion," he said.
Jeremy Wand, who lived nearby in Argyle with his parents, agreed to help his brother set the lethal fire in exchange for a $300 cut of the family's life insurance settlement, according to state investigators. He has been held since the fire at the Lafayette County Jail on a $1.2 million bond.
At her husband's sentencing last month, Sharon Wand submitted a statement that detailed the physical and psychological abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband in the year or so before the fire. She did not mention her brother-in-law, Jeremy Wand, in her statement.
Medina is eager not to have the older brother equated with his client.
"I don't want Jeremy painted with the same brush," he said to Judge Thomas Vale, in a discussion of which questions will be allowed on the jury questionnaire.
The judge ruled that a question about domestic violence should stay on the questionnaire, despite Medina's objection that his client "has not been involved in domestic violence."
Prosecutor Roy Korte successfully argued the question is neutral and does not condemn Jeremy Wand.
Medina said after the hearing that Wand "seems OK" after eight months in jail, but "he's concerned."
"Armin got the full weight of the law," Medina said. "I'd be more concerned if he said, 'No big deal.'"