Warrant: Gun used in slaying of Texas prosecutor found

DALLAS - A dive team has recovered a weapon from a North Texas lake that authorities say was used in the slaying last year of a Kaufman County prosecutor, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by CBS affiliate KHOU.

Two guns, one of which is said to be the weapon used to kill Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse last year, were recovered March 5 from Lake Tawakoni by the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to the station. A black mask was also reportedly recovered. The lake is located about 40 miles northeast of Kaufman.

Former county Justice of the Peace Eric Williams and his wife, Kim, face capital murder charges in the deaths of Hasse, District Attorney Mike McLelland and McLelland's wife, Cynthia.

The second gun found in the lake has been directly linked through purchase records to Kim Williams, the records obtained by the station state.

Hasse, 57, was gunned down Jan. 31, 2013 by a masked man as he walked to the downtown Kaufman courthouse. District Attorney Mike McLelland, 63, and his wife Cynthia, 65, were killed in their Forney home over the Easter weekend.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Eric Williams. They have not said whether they will seek the same for Kim Williams.

Authorities have said they believe the couple began plotting the murders after McLelland and Hasse prosecuted Williams in a theft and burglary case that resulted in his removal as a justice of the peace in 2012. A judge sentenced Williams to probation in that case.

Jury selection in Eric Williams' trial is scheduled to begin in May. The trial is expected to begin in October.

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