Davis Wants to Change Legal Team

BARTOW | Leon Davis, who has lately been representing himself during his trial on five counts of murder, wants to again make changes to his defense team.

Davis, 30, is accused of committing the deadliest rampage in Polk County history, which took place in December and left two women, a newborn and two men dead.

For about two months, the Lake Wales man has repeatedly insisted on exercising his right to represent himself. Davis does not have legal training.

Stephen Fisher, a lawyer with the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, has been serving as "standby counsel" to give Davis legal advice.

But Davis filed a notice of hearing dated Nov. 12 seeking to dismiss his standby counsel and appoint "new counsel."

A hearing has been set for this afternoon before Circuit Judge J. Michael Hunter. The one-page handwritten notice does not indicate who the new counsel would be or whether Davis wants the person to represent him as a lawyer or have the person serve as standby counsel.

Davis has also filed other pending motions in his cases, including a motion seeking to suppress evidence.

Hunter has scheduled one of Davis' murder trials - a triple homicide - to begin Oct. 12, 2009. His double-homicide case has been scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 11, 2010.

Davis is charged with fatally shooting two employees, Pravinkumar Patel and Dashrath Patel, at a BP gas station near Lake Alfred on Dec. 7, 2007. He is also accused of robbing a Lake Wales insurance office Dec. 13, 2007, where two women were doused with gasoline and set on fire.

Juanita "Jane" Luciano and Yvonne Bustamante later died from their injuries. Luciano's infant son, who was delivered by Caesarean section after the attack, also died.

[ Jason Geary can be reached at jason.geary@theledger.com or 863-802-7536. ]