District Judge David Lester has denied a motion by lawyer for Michael Swanson to combine his murder trials in the shooting deaths of two convenience store clerks. An opinion was issued by judge Lester to County Attornies Todd Holmes of Kossuth County and Jennifer Benson of Humboldt County.
That means, that barring a request for a change of venue, Swanson`s trial in Humboldt County would begin Monday June 20th and on Wednesday July 27th in Kossuth County.
Swanson of Saint Louis Park Minnesota, was arrested last November 15th on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in connection with the deaths of Vicky Bowman Hall of Burt and Sheila Myers of Humboldt at convenience stores in Algona and Humboldt.
Swanson remains in the Kossuth County Jail on a one-million-dollar cash only bond.
By Chuck Shockley, KLGA, Algona