A Dickinson man, who is charged in connection with a shooting and burglary, may be seeking a new defense attorney.
Jay Greenwood represented Joel Wetzel at a Tuesday hearing at the Stark County District Courthouse.
Wetzel faces charges of burglary, two counts of reckless endangerment, and two counts of terrorizing after he allegedly broke into a Dickinson residence in July and fired his rifle at a door, injuring a resident. When police arrived, he allegedly aimed his rifle at an officer. Another officer reportedly shot Wetzel in the side.
Kevin McCabe, who is Wetzel's attorney, was unable to attend the Tuesday hearing, where Wetzel's medical evaluation was brought up. In January, McCabe stated Wetzel would claim he has a mental defect or disease. However, McCabe had trouble finding a doctor to examine him.
"In light of that evaluation there are still some questions regarding the direction in which counsel is going to go," Greenwood said.
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Stark County Assistant State's Attorney James Hope said he received the state's evaluation last week, but McCabe has yet to get Wetzel an evaluation. McCabe was granted an extension on the evaluation in January.
Another pretrial will be scheduled to clear up some of the issues faced in the case.
Wetzel, who has a Purple Heart and was awarded a Silver Star in 1968, spent time in prison for manslaughter in 1994.
