Orozco trial date set for July

DAYTON – Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney C. Dale Slack said the Benjamin Orozco murder case has been re-set, from March 11 to July 8.

Slack said May 8 is the deadline for the exchange of all evidence that is intended for use in the trial. This will be followed by arguments dealing with the admission of certain evidence in the trial, at a hearing set for May 31, at 1:30 p.m. in Superior Court.

Pretrial and readiness will be heard on June 5, with the actual trial taking place July 8-19, Slack said.

Orozco is facing charges arising from the 1996 shootings of Lance Terry and David Eaton, who were shot in downtown Dayton. Orozco is charged with second-degree murder for shooting Terry, who died from shots to the chest and abdomen, and first-degree assault against Eaton who sustained hand and knee injuries.

After the shooting, Orozco reportedly fled to Mexico where he lived until 2016, when he was arrested and held in a Mexican jail until his extradition to Columbia County. Since Dec. 2016, Orozco has been in a medical unit at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.