Murder trial delayed as attorneys argue over evidence

The murder trial of Daniel Lee Mann II, who detectives say admitted to the 2016 fatal shooting of Charles Lehnert during a drug deal gone bad, has been pushed back a week as attorneys are seeking to exclude evidence at trial.

Mann, 23, is facing charges of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. If convicted, he will be given an automatic life sentence since the state is not seeking the death penalty.

On the evening of Jan. 22, 2016, Lehnert’s body was found in the parking lot of lawn equipment provider Gravely of Bradenton, 5732 15th St. E., Bradenton. Video surveillance footage led detectives with the Manatee Homicide Investigative Unit to identify Mann and James Michael Hardy as suspects after they were identified by a tipster.

After both men were apprehended in Tallahassee, Mann admitted to police he had pulled the trigger while Hardy held the victim down, according to investigators.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday. The delay comes as both sides are seeking to have certain evidence from being presented to a jury, according to court records.

On Friday, the state filed a motion seeking to prohibit the defense from entering into evidence any mention that Lehnert had a pocket knife in his pocket when crime scene technicians processed the crime scene. Assistant State Attorney Garrett Franzen argued in his motion there has never been any evidence that Lehnert wielded the knife nor that Mann was ever physically harmed.

The state is also seeking to exclude any evidence of drugs found in his pocket, other than marijuana or pills and results from a toxicology analysis after Lehnert’s autopsy.

On Monday, the defense filed a motion seeking to prohibit some statements made during recorded interviews or depositions from being presented to a jury because they are immaterial to the alleged crime, according to court records.

For example, defense attorney Jason Reid argued for the exclusion of a statement by a detective during Mann’s interrogation stating his own conclusion that Mann had been on the run and deserved to go to jail.

Hardy, 23, is scheduled to stand trial during the two-week trial period that begins Oct. 2. He is charged with principal to second-degree murder and could face up to life in prison if convicted.

At the time of his arrest, Mann was on probation for two possession of cocaine convictions.

This story was originally published August 1, 2017 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Murder trial delayed as attorneys argue over evidence."