Attorneys in rape case not paid, ask to withdraw

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — The retrial of Martin E. Warren of Champion on a charge of raping a 13-year-old girl will be delayed by a motion filed by his attorneys asking they be removed from the case.

Attorneys Jeff Goodman and Roger Bauer asked Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court last week to withdraw from the case on the grounds that they have not been paid.

Judge Kontos advised Warren to report to the Ohio Public Defender’s Office to determine whether he qualifies for an attorney through that office. He also asked the attorneys for an affidavit stating that they had not been paid.

A hearing will be April 6, by which time the court expects to know whether the public defender’s office will handle Warren’s defense.

On Monday, the defense and prosecution in Warren’s case had intended to decide on a date to conduct a second set of tests on DNA recovered from the girl to determine whether it had come from Warren.

But that testing will be pushed back by the need to determine who will represent Warren, court officials said.

Warren, 60, of Cleveland Avenue, is accused of raping the girl in the basement of his home in 2006.

A jury found him innocent of one rape count during a trial in February but was deadlocked on the other count.