San Diego

Attorneys in the case of Larry Hansel, the laid-off technician accused of killing two Elgar Corp. executives last June, have failed reach a plea bargain, but Hansel’s attorney said in court Friday that he hopes to resolve the case without a trial.

Hansel, 41, is charged with two counts of murder in a special circumstance case stemming from the shooting death of two men at the Miramar electronics firm.

Hansel has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Defense attorney Alex Loebig told Superior Court Judge Frederic Link that he hopes to resolve the guilt phase of the case without going to trial, but he will demand a sanity trial.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregg McClain confirmed that Hansel “may plead guilty.”

McClain said, however, he disagrees with the defense request for the sanity trial to be held before a judge.

Loebig said Friday four psychiatric reports “are consistent in finding (Hansel) psychotic.”

McClain said he would rather have a jury decide if Hansel is sane, because he thinks 12 people would find him responsible for the murders.

“We’re not going to roll over because the psych reports say that he’s insane,” he said.

If found sane, Hansel could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole because McClain has charged Hansel with committing multiple murders.

In the first of three local disgruntled-worker shootings in the past eight months, Hansel is charged with methodically moving through the Elgar Corp. plant on June 6 in a search for six executives on his hit list.

After shooting company vice president John Gary Jones and regional sales manager Michael Krowitz, Hansel was seen riding away from the plant on a bicycle with a shotgun slung over his shoulder.

A trial date in the case is tentatively set for June 1. Until then, Hansel remains in custody without bail.