Lawyer's indictment delays client's murder trial
Convicted of murder earlier this month and sentenced to 18 years to life, Lamar Simmons, 35, was facing a second murder trial on Monday in an unrelated Ohio case.
But it had to be delayed after Simmons’ defense lawyer, Greg Cohen, was indicted. The attorney is accused of trying to bribe a witness in the second Hamilton County Common Pleas Court murder case against Simmons, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer.
An earlier Enquirer article says Cohen, 55, was charged with bribery and obstruction in a grand jury indictment. Cohen didn’t respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment at that time, and his lawyer, Pete Rosenwald, said he was still familiarizing himself with the case.
In the second murder case, Simmons is accused by prosecutors of slaying a witness to a different murder, to prevent him from testifying. Simmons allegedly shot Jose Vazquez in the head on Feb. 25, 2005.
Cohen has now asked to withdraw as Simmons’ lawyer in the second murder case. Cohen has been in practice in Ohio since 1993.
