Trial begins for Marr's kin over stolen items

There were clothes dryers, riding lawn mowers, a refrigerator, a pricey mountain bike and even a hot tub — about $20,000 worth of merchandise, all of it stolen.

Yesterday, Lorenzo Marr went on trial in King County Superior Court, charged with four counts of possessing stolen property.

When officers arrived at his home June 22, 2000, they were looking for his younger brother, Aristotle Marr, who was wanted in a robbery at a North Seattle branch of Wells Fargo Bank earlier that day.

Lorenzo Marr came to the door and told police the Beacon Avenue South home was his own residence. When police searched the home and found what they termed "a veritable warehouse'' of stolen goods, they concluded that Lorenzo Marr did, in fact, have "dominion and control'' over the property, Deputy Prosecutor Catherine McDowall told jurors yesterday.

Lorenzo Marr occasionally glanced back at his mother, Loraine Harris, who listened to McDowall tell jurors that the items had been stolen from The Home Depot, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse and other stores.

McDowall said Lorenzo Marr's stories to police that day varied: He told officers the mountain bike was his mother's, then that it was a gift to him from a girlfriend, then that all the appliances belonged to his mother.

When police returned later with a rented truck and confiscated the items, Lorenzo Marr said police were harassing him because they could not find his brother, Aristotle, who had fled after the bank robbery.

The elder Marr's attorney, Carolyn Ramamurti, told jurors that a number of people lived at the house, including Lorenzo Marr's girlfriend, and that the stolen property could have been someone else's.

Under the current charges, the prosecutor must prove only that Lorenzo Marr had possession of the items, not that he stole them.

The Marr family's finances have been under scrutiny, especially since Aristotle Marr, who surrendered to police in February, tried to post $500,000 cash bail, saying it was from a wealthy Jamaican contractor, Noel McLean.

When police and prosecutors checked on the potential donor, they discovered the information provided wasn't accurate. The defense never produced McLean to testify before the court about his willingness to post bail. As a result, Aristotle Marr was denied bail.

Aristotle Marr is to be tried on kidnapping, bank-robbery and other charges in January.

Nancy Bartley can be reached at 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com.