Lawrence Police Department officers investigate a fatal Saturday night shooting at Motel 6 in North Lawrence, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017.

Jurors in the Lawrence Motel 6 murder case will not be allowed to visit the scene of the crime during the trial, a judge ruled.

A joint jury trial for three defendants in the case is scheduled to start March 5 in Douglas County District Court, and defense attorneys had requested that jurors be driven to view the room to help their understanding of evidence that will be presented.

Judge Sally Pokorny denied that motion at a hearing on Friday.

Gunfire erupted about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 2, 2017, among a group of nine men who’d been partying inside Room 308 of Motel 6, at 1130 N. Third St. in North Lawrence. The shooting killed 23-year-old Cameron Hooks of Lenexa and injured two others.

Charges and previous testimony allege that the three co-defendants and a fourth man — who hasn’t been publicly named or charged — suddenly got up from different locations in the room and committed the shootings while trying to rob other men they’d been hanging out with.

From left, Tyrone J. Carvin, Shawn K. Smith and Ramone Singleton appear during a joint preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in Douglas County District Court. The three men are charged with murder and other crimes in connection with a Sept. 2, 2017 shooting at the North Lawrence Motel 6.

The defendants are Tyrone J. Carvin, 19, of Kansas City, Kan.; Ramone Singleton, 23, of Kansas City, Kan.; and Shawn K. Smith, 19, of Kansas City, Mo.

Each is charged with one count of murder, for allegedly killing Hooks in the commission of a dangerous felony, armed robbery; one count of aggravated battery; one count of aggravated assault; and one count of attempted aggravated robbery. They have pleaded not guilty and remain jailed on $1 million bond.

Carvin’s appointed attorney, Michael Clarke, argued during Friday’s hearing that he had visited the room and that physically being there elucidated testimony about its layout and the proximity of people to one another during the incident.

“Actually being in that room is substantially more helpful than just viewing the photographs,” he said. “It is definitely in all parties’ interests, quite frankly, for jurors to have the same opportunity to view the scene themselves.”

Clarke said he priced private transportation and found it would cost about $450, plus $50 to reserve the room. He said sending jurors to the room was worth the time and cost “in such a serious case.”

Prosecutor C.J. Rieg argued that a trip to the crime scene was not needed.

“There are hundreds of photos of the scene,” she said, adding that the Lawrence Police Department also used new 360-degree camera technology to photograph inside the room. “It is as if you are there.”

The judge said she wasn’t concerned about cost but that taking time for such a field trip was unnecessary, as jurors should already be familiar with the general size and layout of motel rooms.

“I don’t think seeing a generic motel room — Motel 6 — will give the jury any better understanding,” Pokorny said.

Pokorny scheduled another hearing for Feb. 20 to consider other motions in the case, including defense attorneys’ requests to sever the trial and have the defendants tried separately.