Judge tells suspect to work with court attorneys or hire his own
A 40-year-old man awaiting trial in the murder of a cabdriver in Zion in 2010 was told to work with his court-appointed defense attorney or spend the money to hire his own lawyer.
Lake County Associate Judge James Booras told Darryel Garner of Waukegan that he will not receive a new court-appointed attorney and that he needs to learn to work with the ones he has.
“You have two outstanding defense attorneys, some of the best in the county’s public defenders office, working for you,” Booras said Friday. “You should work with them, unless you wish to hire someone else. It’s up to you.”
Garner remains in Lake County jail after being charged with shooting Patrick Foster, 45, of Park City, in March 2010.
Authorities said Garner was a passenger in Foster’s cab on a trip to Zion when he shot Foster five times in the face, back and neck. While being shot, Foster jumped into the back seat of the cab and subdued Garner, called police from his cellphone and held the man down until help could arrive.
Foster was treated at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, but was later transferred to Froedert Medical Center in Milwaukee where he died in May 2010.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys were on track to go to trial in October or work out a plea agreement, but that was before Garner stopped working with court-appointed attorneys Keith Grant and Eric Rinehart.
Garner told Booras in court he wanted new attorneys because Grant and Rinehart would go three weeks without speaking with him.
“You expect a visit, then you don’t get it,” Garner said. “They are supposed to represent me, but they don’t come see me.”
Booras told Garner to start working with his attorneys in order to get the case back on track.
“They are talking to you, but you don’t give them an answer,” Booras said. “All you have to do is cooperate.”