Interstate shooting suspect has counsel dismissed

A suspect in March’s Interstate 64 shootings today was assigned new legal representation after saying his public defender was “more or less prosecuting me than defending me.”

Slade A. Woodson, 20, had been scheduled to enter a guilty plea, but instead he told Circuit Court Judge Cheryl V. Higgins that he no longer wanted Public Defender James Hingeley to represent him.

“I do not feel like I have sufficient counsel,” Woodson said. “I feel that he was more or less prosecuting me than defending me.”

Woodson said in court that there was an issue with his attorney-client relationship, noting that he and Hingeley hadn’t agreed on aspects of his case.

Prior to releasing Hingeley’s office and appointing Jessica Smith, Higgins explained in court that her decision was not a reflection on Hingeley’s work but an attempt to avoid potential appeal issues.

Hingeley declined to comment on how much advance notice he was given of Woodson’s change of heart. In court today, he said he disagreed with the reasons why Woodson wanted a new lawyer, stating that a recent talk between Woodson and another attorney could have affected Woodson’s choice. Hingeley declined to reveal the identity of the lawyer.

“I don’t ascribe any bad motives to the attorney,” said Hingeley, who explained that sometimes defendants’ family members ask lawyers they know to speak with their loved ones about their cases.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford said in court that Hingeley pored over Woodson’s file in her office. Hingeley added that he spent many hours working on Woodson’s case, making multiple trips to talk to Woodson at the Middle River Regional Jail in Verona.

Hingeley said it is unusual but not unheard of for someone to release the public defender’s office from representation.

“These are hard cases for people, and [Woodson] is up [against] a lot,” Hingeley said. “It happens more often in tough cases. This is a tough case.”

Woodson is facing 15 felony counts in connection with the I-64 sniper fire on March 27. Police closed a portion of the interstate while they investigated the shootings, which indirectly resulted in two minor injuries. Woodson could face more than 100 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

Earlier this month, a judge in Wayesboro Circuit Court sentenced Woodson to two years in prison in connection with shots fired at a bank and home the same day as the I-64 incident. Brandon Dawson, a 16-year-old who previously testified that he fired a shot at an 18-wheeler and at a house as part of the interstate shootings, was sentenced to a 180-day local intensive program for juveniles after an appeal earlier this year.

Woodson is scheduled to return to court Dec. 18 to have a new trial date set.