Elderly murder defendant asks for new attorney
WEST CHESTER >> An octogenarian Chester County man who is charged with the murder of his roommate after a dispute involving a pet dog told the Common Pleas Court judge overseeing his case that he wants a new attorney.
“I want a public defender,” defendant Uley Hines said Thursday from a seat in a wheelchair in Judge Patrick Carmody’s courtroom.
Hines, 83, of Coatesville, had been represented by the veteran criminal defense attorney Shaka Johnson of Philadelphia at his preliminary hearing in October. An associate of Johnson’s, attorney D’Yal McAllister, told Carmody that her office was asking to withdraw from the case, leading to Hines’ wish to apply to the Chester County Public Defender’s Office.
Carmody, hoping to expedite the process of securing an attorney for the aging defendant, directed a member of the Public Defender’s Office to visit Hines at the Chester County Prison, where he is being held without bail on firstand third-degree murder charges, to begin the paperwork.
“I want to make sure you get a date for a trial as soon as we can,” Carmody told Hines. “But you first need to get an attorney.” No trial date has been set.
Hines was arrested in August and charged with the fatal shooting of 61-yearold Keith Boggs at the home they shared in the city.
According to a press release, on Aug. 19, at approximately 8:41 a.m., the Coatesville City Police Department responded to a residence on the 200 Block of Graham Avenue, Coatesville, Chester County, for a report of a shooting.
At approximately 8:44 a.m., officers arrived on the scene and found the victim lying unresponsive on the front steps of the residence. Officers observed one gunshot wound to the upper left chest area and found no pulse.
Officers heard a female juvenile screaming inside the residence as ad
ditional emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene. Once inside an officer observed a bloody shoe print located a few feet from the front door entryway, along with a few drops of blood. No other occupants were found inside the residence. Washington Hose EMS transported the victim to Paoli Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators spoke
with the 911 caller who informed them that he had heard two gunshots and later observed the feet of the victim lying on the ground.
Law enforcement viewed residential camera footage from the 911 caller. Portions of the stairs and front of the 200-block residence were captured on camera. At approximately 8:10 a.m., police observed the victim walking down the front steps of the home when an elderly male wearing tan pants, a blue flannel shirt, and a light-colored baseball cap
crossed paths with him on the steps. He was later identified as Hines.
After the victim entered the home, he was heard walking up the steps. At 8:23 a.m., the defendant was observed walking up the steps of the home and onto the front porch area. At approximately 8:29 a.m. the front door of the residence was observed being opened.
Later that afternoon investigators interviewed a witness at the Coatesville City Police Station. The witness informed them
that the defendant lived at the residence with the victim, another roommate and her child.
The witness stated that prior to the shooting, she was seated in the front living room of her residence reading her Bible. The witness heard the third roommate leaving the residence and later
heard the victim talking outside. She overheard an argument between the victim and defendant over a dog. The witness then heard the victim take the dog up the stairs and into the residence, before hearing two gunshots.
Immediately after the gunshots, the witness heard the defendant say, “I told you to stop (messing) with me!” The witness then heard the victim falling to the ground.
An autopsy was completed on Aug. 21. Investigators learned that the victim sustained three bullet wounds, one on the left side of the chest, one on the right side of the chest, and one in the right arm.
A review of the street camera surveillance system, in conjunction with license plate reader camera software, revealed that the defendant’s vehicle left his residence around 8:43 a.m. and traveled toward North Third Avenue and Fleetwood Street until he headed westbound on Lincoln Highway.
At police headquarters, Hines was observed to be wearing a blue hat, blue flannel shirt, white shirt under the flannel, tan pants, and grey shoes.
There was no objection by the prosecution to the request for a new attorney.