One of the men accused in the killing of a Green Bay teenager was granted more time to prepare for his arraignment, after being charged with homicide earlier this month and assigned a new attorney.
Charles Mlados, 54, of Oconto Falls, was scheduled to be arraigned July 23 for his alleged role in the shooting of Chad McLean after a night of drinking 15 years ago.
Also accused of the homicide is Peter J. Hanson, 52, of Oconto Falls, who in April pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a December trial.
An amended criminal complaint filed July 3 added a party to first degree intentional homicide charge against Mlados, claiming he was with Hanson when Hanson allegedly pulled the trigger. The upgraded charge also accuses Mlados of helping to hide the body and the gun. Mlados was charged in March with two counts of perjury for allegedly lying about the case to a judge at a John Doe hearing.
Attorney Peter Heyne, who originally represented Mlados on the perjury charge, cannot represent him on the homicide charge, based on the rules of the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office.
Mlados’ new attorney, George Pappas Jr., requested time to review transcripts from the John Doe hearing in November 2012 and a preliminary hearing June 5.
“I was just recently appointed, and there’s some catching up to do,” he said.
Because the preliminary hearing addressed only the perjury charges, Pappas questioned whether sufficient evidence was presented to support the homicide charge, also.
To allow time for Pappas to study the transcripts and meet with Mlados, the arraignment is scheduled to continue Sept. 10 with Door County Judge Peter Diltz. Diltz appeared at the July 23 arraignment via a video conference and straightaway asked the defendant and attorneys to turn to face the camera mounted on the back wall of the Oconto County courtroom.
Mlados appeared relaxed when asked to move to the opposite side of the table, where he sat facing in the direction of family and friends of McLean, including McLean’s mother, Carol Neilson. The audience sat quietly while the attorneys and judge swapped possible dates to continue the arraignment.
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