Lawyer Gets Right To Meet With Chevie Kehoe Sheriff Ordered To Give Access; Public Defender Doesn’t Object

A federal judge on Thursday granted the request of an attorney who wants to meet with Chevie Kehoe and possibly represent the ex-fugitive accused of shooting at police following a traffic stop.

Dayton attorney Earl Moore sued on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Dayton, alleging that authorities were preventing him from meeting with Kehoe in the Greene County Jail in Xenia.

Judge Walter Rice ordered Greene County Sheriff Jerry Erwin to give Moore immediate access to Kehoe. Rice said Kehoe has the constitutional right to choose his lawyer.

Moore said he plans to meet with Kehoe as soon as possible to discuss his defense.

“I talked with Chevie Kehoe this morning on the phone, and he’s already made written requests to the public defender and the judge that I represent him,” Moore said.

Clinton County Sheriff Ralph Fizer has said that Moore’s requests to meet with Kehoe have been denied because Kehoe’s court-appointed public defenders have asked that no meetings occur without them being present.

Ohio Public Defender David Bodiker, who represents Kehoe, has said he did not object to Moore meeting with Kehoe.

Messages were left Thursday for Bodiker, Fizer and Erwin seeking comment.

Kehoe, 24, is being held on $20 million bond after being captured last month in Utah.

Kehoe and his brother Cheyne Kehoe, 21, both formerly of Colville, Wash., are accused of taking part in shootouts with police officers after a Feb. 15 traffic stop near Wilmington.

The Kehoe brothers reportedly share interests in firearms, survivalist activities and anti-government and militia philosophies.

Authorities say Chevie Kehoe was the driver and his brother, Cheyne, was riding with him in a blue Chevrolet Suburban that police stopped because of expired Washington state license plates.