DANVILLE, Va. – UPDATE:
In his court appearance on Tuesday, Shotsie Buck-Hayes did not take the stand. There was a motion filed by Buck-Hayes’ attorneys for a psychological evaluation, meaning Buck-Hayes’ attorneys could try to argue Buck-Hayes isn’t fit to stand trial. The judge, however, held this off until his trial in October.
The commonwealth’s attorney called three people to the stand. The first was a co-worker of Councilman Vogler’s at Showcase Magazine, Steven Seiple. Seiple witnessed the attack on July 30. During his testimony, Seiple described how Buck-Hayes broke into Showcase Magazine and dumped gasoline on Vogler.
Vogler then yelled for Seiple to call 911 and ran outside, where he was set on fire in front of the magazine’s office. In graphic detail, Seiple described the immediate injuries to Vogler, noting his shirt was thoroughly burned and his chest pink from burns.
“There was a huge, like stain of gas right at Lee’s door... his shirt had been burned off. His chest was pink. His arms were really bad,” Seiple said.
The second witness to be called was Sgt. Gerrit Clay of the Danville Police department. Sgt. Clay testified that Buck-Hayes told him the reason he set Vogler on fire was because Vogler was having an affair with his wife.
“He stated he went to a gas station and purchased $3 worth of gasoline... He stated he set the person on fire who was having an affair with his wife,” Clay said.
Sgt. Cole also reiterated that Buck-Hayes told him his intent was to kill Vogler.
The final witness of the day was Vogler’s wife, Blair. Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Newman focused Blair’s testimony on her husband’s injuries. Blair went into detail on the treatment Vogler has received since being admitted to the burn unit at UNC Chapel Hill after the incident.
She said after the attack, over 60% of Vogler’s body was covered in third-degree burns. She added that, in treating those burns, they took another 35% of his skin to cover those burns. The injuries have also resulted in infections, burn shock and septic shock for Lee.
According to Blair, his lungs were also severely damaged by smoke inhalation. This led to Lee catching pneumonia. Blair added Lee’s road to recovery is far from over, with Lee having visited the operating room five times in the past week. She says he may still have more procedures down the road.
Buck-Hayes’ next court appearance will be on Oct. 27 in Danville Circuit Court.
The man accused of setting Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler on fire on July 30 will appear in Danville General District Court Tuesday morning for a preliminary hearing.
[RELATED: Danville community speaks out following attack on city councilman]
Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes, 29, is facing charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding. During interviews with police after the incident, Buck-Hayes admitted he tried to kill Vogler in the attack.
10 News will be in the courtroom for the hearing, and you can find the latest details online.