The man who is accused of attacking Danville City Council member Lee Vogler on July 30 will face a grand jury.
Shotsie Buck-Hayes, 29, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding a few hours after the attack. General District Judge Greg Haymore determined at a preliminary hearing Tuesday that there was enough evidence to certify both charges.
The charges will be heard by a grand jury Oct. 27 in Danville Circuit Court, said Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Newman. During that hearing, the grand jury will decide whether to indict Buck-Hayes. If he is indicted, the case will proceed to trial.
In a preliminary hearing, the court determines whether there is probable cause for two things: that a crime occurred and that the defendant committed that crime.
Vogler was at his workplace on July 30 when a man identified as Buck-Hayes entered the office, doused him with gasoline and lit him on fire, according to the Danville Police Department.
He was airlifted to the burn unit at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill immediately after the attack and has been there since, receiving treatment for second- and third-degree burns to over half of his body.
Newman called three witnesses to testify during the hearing.
Stephen Seiple, who works at Showcase Magazine with Vogler, testified about the day of the attack.
Seiple said he was at the office speaking with Vogler when an individual, whom Seiple identified as Buck-Hayes in the courtroom, came into the office and doused Vogler in gasoline.
He said he noticed wet spots on Vogler’s shirt as Vogler left the office, trying to get away from Buck-Hayes. Vogler was screaming, Seiple said, and Seiple called 911.
By the time Seiple got outside, he said Vogler was lying in the mulch.
“His shirt had been burnt off, and his chest was very pink, and his arms were really, really bad,” Seiple testified.
The second witness, Sgt. Gerrit Clay with the Danville Police Department, questioned Buck-Hayes after his arrest.
Clay testified that while he was questioning the suspect, “[Buck-Hayes] said that his wife had had an affair with the person he set on fire. … He said that his intent was to kill Lee Vogler.”
After the hearing, Newman said he would not repeat the motive described by Clay.
“[Clay] testified as to what the defendant claimed was the motive,” Newman said. “I’m not quite sure if that’s going to turn out to be the motive or not. Sometimes, someone gives a motive that may or may not end up being the motive. More pointedly, he admitted he set Lee on fire and that he did so with the intent to kill him.”
Clay said that during questioning, Buck-Hayes had admitted to purchasing $3 worth of gasoline at a gas station and using a lighter to set Vogler on fire.
Vogler’s wife testifies to trauma of attack
Newman also called Vogler’s wife, Blair Vogler, as a witness. She testified about the injuries her husband sustained in the attack and said that 60% of his body was covered in second- and third-degree burns.
“In order to correct those burns, they had to take an additional 35% of his skin, so there was a time when he was 95% open,” Blair Vogler said. “That has led to infections, he’s had burn shock, septic shock … a smoke inhalation injury, and burns to his lungs, so he had pneumonia.”
Vogler is still in the intensive care unit at UNC-Chapel Hill, she said.
In a statement on a fundraising page last week, Blair Vogler wrote that her husband had undergone what medical teams hoped would be his last skin graft surgery. He is expected to remain in the hospital until at least the end of the year.
He has made small strides towards recovery, after multiple surgeries and work with physical therapists, according to the updates. In the past month, he has been able to stand briefly with assistance and has begun to eat solid food and communicate.
The testimony about Vogler’s injuries was necessary to substantiate the aggravated malicious wounding charge, Newman said in an interview after the hearing.
“Malicious wounding is a crime, just malicious wounding,” Newman said. “Aggravated malicious wounding requires me to prove that the injuries are both significant and permanent.”
Buck-Hayes was held in the Danville City Jail under no bond until Aug. 1, when he was transferred to Central State Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Petersburg, according to Danville Sheriff Mike Mondul.
He was returned to Danville in mid-August and has been in an isolation cell since then, Mondul said.
Buck-Hayes’ attorney, Edward Lavado, didn’t call any witnesses on Tuesday. He submitted a motion to the court Monday for a psychological evaluation of Buck-Hayes, Haymore said.
That evaluation would analyze Buck-Hayes’ competency to stand trial and his sanity at the time of the alleged crime, Newman said.
Haymore did not take up that matter Tuesday, saying it could be considered for a future court date.
The judge certified both charges, saying there was sufficient probable cause to send the case to a grand jury.
The maximum sentence for attempted first-degree murder is 10 years in prison, and the maximum sentence for aggravated malicious wounding is 20 years to life, Newman said after the hearing.