Nov 26, 2012 3 min read

A Washington man Monday denied he wanted to represent himself during his new trial for allegedly shooting another man in East Washington, but he said he definitely did not want the same attorney who won him the retrial to represent him in court this time around.

In October, the trial for 19-year-old EL-Hajj Malik Turner ended in a deadlock and mistrial after Washington County Judge John DiSalle intervened in what was described as a “heated argument” between certain jurors during deliberations. DiSalle called the mistrial because one juror could not be swayed.

Afterward, Turner was returned to the county jail to be held pending a retrial on charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault. Turner is accused of shooting Marti Brown, 23, of Washington, Dec. 2 at a playground on Forrest Avenue.

Turner was brought before DiSalle Monday prior to the beginning of jury selection for his new trial. The judge told Turner he had received two motions from him – a request to serve as his own legal counsel and a request to have Assistant Public Defender Tom Cooke removed from his case.

Turner responded by saying he didn’t want to represent himself in court, and that it was Cooke who filed the request without his approval. But Turner said he did want Cooke replaced as his attorney because of a conflict of interest.

When asked by DiSalle to pinpoint the conflicts, Turner said, “He just doesn’t do anything for me. He won’t file anything. He won’t come see me.

“And, he tried to get my girlfriend to testify against me,” Turner added.

Cooke denied Turner’s allegations and told the judge he did everything he could to defend Turner, who insisted on going to trial and repeatedly turned down plea offers of 2 1/2 to 5 years in prison on lesser charges.

“He (Cooke) obviously served you well enough to get one of the jurors to believe your story,” said DiSalle, before denying Turner’s request to have Cooke removed. The judge then proceeded with jury selection. A jury was seated, and the trial will begin today.

Prosecutors and court staff hope this trial for Turner goes more smoothly than the one last month, which opened with Turner’s father being escorted out of the courthouse for causing a commotion. Then, Brown was held in contempt of court for refusing to testify against Turner, apparently because he feared retaliation.

However, Brown reportedly has had a change of heart and is slated to testify this time, according to Assistant District Attorney Darren Newberry.

Brown told police it was Turner who shot him in the arm and leg after the two agreed to meet to settle an argument.

While Turner admits to having a gun when he met Brown, he contends it was someone else who fired the shots.