EL PASO COUNTY — Court documents show Letecia Stauch refused her scheduled law library slots on both March 30 and April 2, resulting in her name being removed from the list of inmates allowed to access that facility for 90 days. Her name was taken off the list on April 8, meaning she will not be eligible for such visits until July.
Stauch is accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson Gannon in their Lorson Ranch home on January 27, 2020. Stauch has decided to represent herself in the first-degree murder case.
Additional court documents made public on April 23 state Stauch "repeatedly" asked to be taken off the law library list. She said she does not need the library.
The law library is a place where pro se inmates can go to prepare for their court appearances. Stauch had previously been allowed four hours a week in the law library to review her case. Those were conducted in two, two-hour sessions.
Stauch said she had medical concerns regarding her visits to the law library, claiming her "drowsiness" would interfere with the early times she has been scheduled.
At the end of March, a letter from Stauch to Judge Gregory Werner was unsealed by the courts. It showed some of her reasoning for deciding to represent herself. In the handwritten letter, Stauch expresses concerns regarding privacy, her attorney's ability to gather evidence, and states "I am not mentally well."
There are 26,101 pages of evidence in this case. The core of the case is estimated to be around 1,800 pages.
Previously, the judge ordered the case core of 1,800 pages be provided to Stauch in the jail on paper. Remaining evidence would be accessed digitally in the law library.
At a prior motions hearing on March 12, a commander at the El Paso County Jail explained why inmates are not allowed to have an excessive amount of papers inside their jail cells. He said it creates hiding places for things like contraband or weapons, saying deputies have located weapons among paperwork in the past.
At that same motions hearing in mid-March, Stauch had apparently already denied a different visit to the law library. The commander believed she did that because she had no evidence to review at the time. Stauch said she actually denied the visit to the law library because she was told she would be kept in full restraints, meaning she would not be able to use her hands to do her work.
The commander said they would make accommodations for Stauch in the law library, where she is not wearing full restraints and could adequately conduct her research.
The prosecution has said they plan on calling witnesses from the FBI at the proof evident, presumption great hearing in May. Judge Werner said they would need to make a list by April 29, so that Stauch can review who the witnesses will be.
Her preliminary hearing is still set to start on May 20, according to court dockets.
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