CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A man accused of conspiring to commit a murder at the Motel 6 in Cross Lanes last year says he wants a new lawyer.
Terrick Hogan, 27, of St. Albans, told Kanawha County Circuit Judge Charles King Tuesday his current defense attorney has misrepresented him in the case.
“I’ve seen him once over the course of this whole entire process,” Hogan said in court. “He never even attempted to properly defend me. I feel like I’ve been against all odds since the very beginning.”
Hogan was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit a felony following the shooting death of his childhood friend Kalvin Casdorph, 21, in April 2015.
Hogan’s mother sent a three page letter to Kanawha County assistant prosecutor Maryclaire Akers stating she wanted Akers to consider a lesser degree of murder from first degree to second degree with the minimum term of 20 years, but Akers denied the request.
The shooter, Marcus Curtis, 26, pleaded guilty last week to first degree murder. Police also charged Shayla Stephenson, 22.
According to police, Hogan was hanging out with Casdorph the night before at the Mardi Gras Casino and noticed he had a lot of money on him, so the trio came up with a plan to rob Casdorph. Akers said Stephenson picked Curtis up on Charleston’s West Side. Hogan then directed Stephenson, via text message, to pick up a gun at his grandmother’s house to give to Curtis to commit the robbery inside Casdorph’s motel room. Stephenson and Hogan remained inside the car parked at in the motel’s parking lot during the time of the shooting.
“Under the law, the master mind of what happened was Terrick Hogan. He thought it up, he got the gun, he executed the plan and then he went away from the scene,” Akers told the judge. “Terrick Hogan is just as responsible for what happened, so no. I will not reduce that charge.”
Akers said her offer, which Hogan previously agreed to, was for him to plead to first degree murder with mercy.
On Tuesday, Hogan backed out of that already-signed plea deal.
“He (his attorney) advised me that this was the best possible thing for me to do, but inside, I don’t feel like it is,” Hogan said.
If Hogan’s case were to go to trial, Akers said they would call about 10 witnesses. Curtis and Stephenson would also testify against him. She said the state would also ask for no mercy.
Natalie Casdorph, Kalvin’s mother, made an emotional appearance in court. She told the judge she gave Hogan a chance to plead guilty to the murder charge with mercy, but she can’t continue to forgive him for what he did.
“If we go trial, I’m fighting hard for my son’s life. I want life with no mercy,” she said as she began to cry. “I’m just pleading to him now. I’ve given him this chance. I’m tired.”
Hogan faces life in prison with a chance at parole after 15 years.
The Kanawha County Circuit Court will soon appoint a new lawyer to represent Hogan.