Adam Longoria will return to Great Bend at least once more before his capital murder trial, which is scheduled to start March 26. A hearing to deal with pretrial motions has been scheduled for 9 a.m. on March 1 in Barton County District Court.

Longoria, 37, is charged with the first-degree murder of 14-year-old Alicia DeBolt in August of 2010. The prosecution is seeking a capital murder conviction based on the allegation that the defendant tried to rape the Great Bend teenager and then killed her. Since the state is not seeking the death penalty in this case, a conviction would carry a life sentence. The defendant is represented by the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit, based in Wichita. Attorneys from the Kansas Attorney General’s Office are handing the prosecution.

Several pretrial matters were taken up during a motions hearing on Feb. 8. After that hearing, Barton County District Judge Hannelore Kitts denied a motion filed by the defense that sought a change of venue.

A journal entry on the last motions hearing has been posted online at http://www.kscourts.org/State-v-longoria/default.asp. All motions that are not sealed are being posted online because of the public interest in this case. Ron Keefover, designated media coordinator for the Kansas Office of Judicial Administration, said the change of venue motion was taken under advisement on Feb. 8 and orally denied on Feb. 13, but to date a journal entry regarding that motion has not been submitted for the website.

However, the latest journal entry does list some of the motions that still need to be dealt with before Longoria’s jury trial. These include:

• State motions to admit Longoria’s statements to Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents, and defense motions to suppress statements.

• State motion to introduce evidence of Longoria’s relationship with Alicia DeBolt.

• Defense motion for juvenile records of state witnesses.

• Defense motion to suppress evidence seized from Longoria’s cell phone.

• Defense motion for notice of and pretrial hearing regarding admissibility of all hearsay statements.

• Defense motions No. 98, 100 and 104, which were filed under seal.

• Defense motion for an Order of Exclusion and Separation of Witnesses at the trial.

The judge has also ordered attorneys on both sides to submit proposed jury instructions to the court no later than March 14.