Murder Suspect’s Attorneys Quit

The attorneys representing murder-torture suspect Spencer Brasure have quit, just days after defeating a prosecutor’s bid to remove them from the case.

On July 14, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Pachowicz asked a judge to dismiss Deputy Public Defenders Robert Willey and Gary Windom from representing Brasure.

Pachowicz argued that the defense team had a conflict of interest because Willey and Windom told a judge about communications they had with Brasure--an apparent violation of attorney-client privilege.

But Municipal Judge Roland Purnell rejected that argument, saying that even if the defense team’s action was “a tactical error,” it does not mean the attorneys are working against their client’s interests. He denied Pachowicz’s motion.

But last Wednesday, Willey and Windom recused themselves from the case without explanation other than declaring that a conflict exists, Pachowicz said.

“They don’t have to provide a reason on the record,” he said Monday. “If they come in and say they have a conflict, judges almost always will accept that.” The defense attorneys could not be reached for comment.

They handed the Brasure case off to Charles Cassy of Conflict Defense Associates, a group of court-appointed defense attorneys that often are called in on cases on which the public defender’s office cannot serve. Cassy is to appear on Brasure’s behalf in Municipal Court on Wednesday morning. Brasure is one of three men awaiting trial in the slaying of Anthony Guest, 20, of Redondo Beach.

Guest’s burned body was found near Gorman on Sept. 13. Authorities allege that Brasure and the other two men abducted him under false pretenses, tortured and killed him. Brasure is also accused of threatening to kill witnesses who would testify against him.