The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday overruled a lower court that said suspect Wilber Martinez Guzman can be tried in one court on four murders that happened in both Washoe and Douglas Counties. 

Originally, prosecutors wanted to try him on two murder cases in Washoe County and two in Douglas County but then decided to move all the cases to one court in Washoe County so that families wouldn’t have to endure more than one trial. 

Lawyers for Martinez Guzman had told the high court that a Washoe County grand jury had no authority to indict him for two of the killings that occurred outside the county. They wanted the court to reverse a district judge's refusal to dismiss the charges tied to the Douglas County crimes.

But the Justices ruled that the Washoe County grand jury does not have jurisdiction over the entire state so they now must be tried in Washoe and Douglas Counties.

In its ruling (below) the high court suggested that if the District Court judge can tie the crimes together then she can grant Washoe County the power to try him in one county. 

“If not, then the Washoe County grand jury does not have the authority to inquire into the Douglas County offenses,” the justices ruled, “and the district court must grant Martinez Guzman’s motion to dismiss.”

Prosecutors had argued the grand jury acted legally partly because Martinez Guzman committed all four homicides with the same gun he stole from the elderly couple he killed in Reno.

Martinez Guzman is accused of killing Connie Koontz and Sophia Renken in Gardnerville, and Jerry and Sherri David in south Reno. All four homicides happened in January 2019.

ORIGINAL STORY: 

Nevada's Supreme Court justices acknowledge they are struggling with complicated jurisdictional questions in the appeal of a Salvadoran man accused of four killings during a 16-day rampage in January.

Lawyers for 20-year-old Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman told the high court Tuesday a Washoe County grand jury had no authority to indict him for two of the killings that occurred outside the county. They want the court to reverse a district judge's refusal to dismiss the charges tied to the Douglas County crimes.

Justice James Hardesty said the fact the panel struggled so much with interpretations of the applicable state law during Tuesday's oral arguments suggests the law is "at a minimum, ambiguous."

Martinez-Guzman's defense previously filed a motion to push back his trial date, but the judge denied that possibility saying that so far there isn't enough specific details to continue the case. 

The defense claims Martinez-Guzman might not be eligible for the death penalty because he may be intellectually disabled. 

They say they need more time because they need the opinion of a neuropsychologist to testify on Martinez-Guzman’s mental capacity and whether he has proper brain function to understand what's happened. 

They claimed Martinez-Guzman's IQ is lower than believed saying he may have been exposed to pesticides and fertilizer while working on farms.

The defense says they need a Spanish speaking neurologist with enough experience to perform tests, and that takes time. 

Prosecutors say the 20-year-old isn't entitled to have experts of his choice. 

No decision was made at last Monday’s status hearing, but the judge says she will either consider a short continuance that is reasonable and necessary... or she will just deny it. 

Martinez-Guzman is accused of killing Connie Koontz and Sophia Renken in Gardnerville, and Jerry and Sherri David in south Reno. All four homicides happened in January.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)