WAVERLY, Ohio — A Pike County judge has denied George “Billy” Wagner III’s request to remove his court-appointed defense attorneys, ruling that the last defendant awaiting trial in the 2016 Pike County massacre failed to show good cause for the switch.
Visiting Judge Jonathan P. Hein issued the judgment entry Monday, denying Wagner’s pro se motion to dismiss attorneys Mark C. Collins and Thomas E. Hayes, who were appointed to represent him because he is indigent. The handwritten motion, filed last month, had accused the defense team of a conflict of interest.
According to the entry, the matter was heard in open court with attorneys for the state and Wagner present; an attorney representing a victim’s representative did not appear and did not seek leave to be absent.
The court found Wagner’s complaints insufficient to justify removing his attorneys. Wagner argued his lawyers misinformed him about the practicality of a speedy trial, but Hein wrote that a trial within the statutory time frame was not possible given the death penalty specifications attached to the indictment, and that Wagner showed no current impact on his defense from the delay.
Wagner also complained of communication problems with his attorneys, which the judge described as “only vaguely described and equivocal.” Hein wrote that occasional communication difficulties were expected given Wagner’s remote location, but that Wagner had not shown an insurmountable problem.
The entry notes that both Collins and Hayes have each practiced criminal law for 33 years with extensive trial experience, and that the court considers it “virtually impossible to find comparable skills” to represent Wagner. Hein also wrote that substituting counsel at this stage would further delay the trial, since new attorneys would not have enough time to prepare under the current schedule.
“The breakdown in the relationship between the Defendant and his attorney must be so great that the Defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel is jeopardized,” the entry states, citing case law, before concluding Wagner’s reasons for seeking removal “are inadequate to sustain the motion” and that his opinion “is not supported by facts.”
The entry also notes that the court remains obligated under Faretta v. California to advise Wagner of his constitutional right to represent himself, should he make a timely, knowing and unequivocal request to do so.
Wagner is the last of four defendants charged in the April 2016 killings of eight members of the Rhoden family in Pike County to await trial. He is accused of multiple counts of aggravated murder with death penalty specifications. Suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Pike County Court of Common Pleas.
