By Brandi Makuski

Attorneys in the Kyle Engen murder case are prepping for an Oct. 30 trial date.

Engen is the only suspect in the shooting death of a former UWSP student Deonte Lezine, who was shot at the intersection of Minnesota and Fifth avenues during a drug deal gone bad in March of 2016. Lezine spent several days on life support before succumbing to his wounds.

According to court records, prosecutors in the Portage Co. District Attorney’s Office and lawyers on Engen’s defense team spent time in August updating witness lists for the coming trial.

Engen, who hails from Marshall, Wis., has been behind bars after eluding authorities for about a month following the St. Patrick’s Day shooting, when U.S. Marshals arrested him in Granby, Colo. last April.

During that attempted drug deal, Engen allegedly fired several shots at Lezine and two other men as they sped away in a Ford Taurus. According to the criminal complaint, the three had prearranged to purchase two pounds of marijuana from Engen for $7,000 but instead attempted to steal the drugs.

Lezine, 21, suffered a gunshot wound to the head and died nine days later at a trauma center in Wausau. The other man, who was Lezine’s roommate at the time, was grazed by a bullet and fled the scene, but later contacted police and cooperated with law enforcement to piece together the series of events on March 17, 2016.

Engen has been charged with three counts of second-degree intentional homicide and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Engen remains behind bars on a $100,000 cash bond. He faces up to 140 years behind bars if convicted.

The trial has been scheduled to begin at 8 AM in Branch III of the Portage Co. Circuit Court on Oct. 30.