A man charged with burglary, solicitation to commit murder and escape has asked a Butler County judge to consider appointing a new attorney to defend him in the three felony cases.

At a hearing Tuesday, Dec. 10, Damean Felmlee, 29, asked Judge Joseph Kubit to terminate Armand Cingolani as his court appointed attorney due to ineffective assistance of counsel and appoint a new attorney.

Felmlee is charged in three cases — he’s charged with burglary and robbery after a May 6 incident in Brady Township, solicitation to commit criminal homicide and retaliation against a victim for allegedly asking his girlfriend to kill the person who reported the burglary, and escape after he allegedly fled on foot from a state trooper Aug. 19 while en route to a preliminary hearing in the second case. Felmlee is being held on those and other charges in county prison in lieu of a combined bail of $1 million.

Evidence in discovery information from the county district attorney’s office isn’t being brought forward by Cingolani, Felmlee said.

He said Cingolani waived his June 6 preliminary hearing before District Judge Joseph Nash on the burglary and robbery charges, but the hearing should not have been waived. The charges against Felmlee in the solicitation and escape cases were held for court at separate preliminary hearings.

“He’s working against me in every way,” Felmlee said.

Assistant district attorney Mark Lope said Cingolani is a “very capable” attorney.

Regarding the solicitation charges, Felmlee said, “I have evidence that I didn’t solicit any crime.”

He said he told Cingolani about evidence he has in the discovery information in all three cases.

Kubit said attorneys use timing and strategy in deciding when to play their cards in criminal cases.

Lope said it sounds like Cingolani is using an affirmative defense in which he would raise issues at trial.

“I think he’s in good hands,” Lope said about Felmlee.

Cingolani said the woman who reported the robbery case testified at a hearing, but he chose not to cross examine her about how she was hurt and the amount of money that was taken.

He said felony and misdemeanor charges wouldn’t get dismissed a preliminary hearing, and he doesn’t want a lot of testimony placed on the record at a hearing in which the charges are not going to be dismissed.

He said a trial is the best venue to put on a defense.

“When to play a card is when you play a card,” Cingolani said. “At trial.”

Placing testimony on the record at a hearing provides prosecutors with information they can use to counter defense arguments during a trial, he said.

Prosecutors are required to disclose evidence and elements of their case to the defense, but the defense is only required to provide its list of witnesses to the prosecution, Cingolani said.

“We don’t have to disclose strategy like the prosecution,” Cingolani said.

He said the information Felmlee pointed out to him has “very low potential.”

In addition, he said Felmlee hurt his case by making phone calls from the Clarion County Jail.

The solicitation charges are based on transcripts of calls Felmlee made to his girlfriend from the jail.

Cingolani said he doesn’t prepare court motions based on everything Felmlee says.

“His averments are naked conclusionary statements,” Cingolani said.

He said he knows the cases against Felmlee better than Felmlee does and that assigning a different attorney could lead to information being overlooked.

He said he has been practicing law and dealing with cases that impact people’s lives for more than 30 years and is a third-generation lawyer with a reputation he lives up to. He said he wants to continue representing Felmlee.

Kubit said he will consider the petition and issue a ruling later.