Judge Allows Attorneys To Withdraw From Bomb Plot Case

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – A federal judge says he is reluctantly granting the request from defense attorneys to withdraw from the case of a Kansas man accused of plotting to bomb an apartment complex filled with Somali immigrants.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren said Wednesday new court-appointed counsel would be selected for Patrick Stein while he continues efforts to hire his own private attorney.

Stein and co-defendants Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen are accused of conspiring to detonate truck bombs at an apartment complex where Somali immigrants live in Garden City.

Stein told the judge his court-appointed attorneys have limited criminal experience to handle a case of this magnitude when the rest of his life is on the line. He says lawyers quoted him prices of between $100,000 and $1 million to represent him.