Moton requests new lawyer, plea

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A teen charged for his role in a deadly crime spree on Terre Haute’s south side asked to withdraw his guilty plea and requested a new attorney.

Andre Moton was arrested in October 2011, after police said he and two other teens escaped from Gibault Children’s Services , beat one man, stole a car from another man and crashed the car during a police chase. One of the teens died during a crash at the end of that chase .

Moton had initially been charged with several felonies, including Murder. He later pled guilty to felony charges of Car-jacking and Robbery Resulting in Injury as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

Moton had been scheduled to be sentenced January 11, but in late 2012, he sent a letter to the court asking to change his plea.

“I would like to withdraw my plea on he grounds of ineffective counsel,” Moton wrote. “Further more (sic), I’d like to take my case to trial or a better plea agreement than I received.”

In a hearing Friday afternoon, Judge Michael Lewis appointed Moton a public defender to handle his case. He scheduled a new hearing to discuss Moton’s plea in February.