ALBERT LEA — A jury will not be able to view the car a rural Freeborn County man was found dead in during the trial of the man charged with his death.

In a ruling issued March 15, District Court Judge Steven Schwab ordered four cones be placed in the parking lot to depict the location of Spencer Daniel Brown’s vehicle when it was found by law enforcement Aug. 23.

The decision came ahead of jury selection for the trial of David Michael Easter, 27, of Brownsdale, who faces a charge of second-degree murder in Brown’s death. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday, with the trial beginning April 3.

Brown, 23, was found dead in a locked 2001 Audi station wagon in a parking lot near Big Island pavilion at Myre-Big Island State Park.

In arguing for the station wagon to be placed at the scene during the planned jury trial on March 13, Freeborn County Attorney David Walker said the motion would allow the jury to contextualize the crime scene. Walker had stated the visit would be less effective without the vehicle there.

In arguing against the motion, public defender Adrianne McMahon had questioned whether the jury would have an accurate view of where the vehicle was during the shooting.

The site visit is planned immediately after opening statements. Jurors will have fine minutes to be at the park entrance, unless the court decides to extend that time, either by its own decision or by a motion from the defense or prosecution. The jury will also be able to walk through the parking area and briefly view the interior of the pavilion.

A number of motions relating to the trial are expected to be discussed Monday. Public defender Michael Ryan is expected to ask the court to preclude the state from using the term point blank range in reference to fired shots. The defense is also expected to ask the court to preclude the state from introducing character evidence regarding Brown and to dismiss a count of Easter carrying or possessing a pistol in Minnesota without a permit.

Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Pending no criminal record is found, Easter faces a presumptive sentence of more than 25 years in prison.

Easter is arguing he shot Brown in self-defense and claimed Brown approached him with what appeared to be a baseball bat.