Lafayette Parish District Attorney Mike Harson Wants To Try Mickey Shunick And Lisa Pate Murders Together

Lafayette Parish District Attorney Mike Harson is making his plans for the murder cases against Brandon Scott Lavergne. He plans to try the two murder cases at the same time. Legal analyst Tim Meche says it's more economical for the prosecution to try both cases together.

Secondly, the prejudice to the defendant is greater because the fact that he is charged with two murders creates an inference in the jury's mind that this is a really bad person.

But Meche says Lavergne will likely seek to have the two cases tried separately because "it's not to his advantage." Meche says capital murder cases are not rushed through the legal system.

The defendant is entitled to two court-appointed lawyers. He's entitled to a number of expert witness resource assistance - probably there will be some mental exams involved.

Harson says it could take two to three years to bring Lavergne to trial. A grand jury indicted Brandon Scott Lavergne on July 18th in the recent suspected death of Mickey Shunick and the 1999 death of Lisa Pate.