Lack of attorney is complication for four-defendant stabbing case

EAU CLAIRE — A man charged last month in connection with a May stabbing incident still doesn’t have an attorney, delaying his case.

Raymond Charboneau, 44, Eau Claire, faces a single count of armed robbery as a party to a crime. The lack of an attorney is delaying his proceedings, including the arraignment at which he would enter a plea.

Since the charges were filed on June 25, the court has held six hearings, the most recent of which was Tuesday. Each has noted that the public defender’s office has not appointed an attorney to represent Charboneau.

Complicating the issue is the fact that one of the four defendants in the case, Brandon Pember, has filed a demand for a speedy trial. While defendants can go to trial without an attorney, it’s very rare that a court will compel them to do so, and such an extraordinary step probably wouldn’t be allowed given Charboneau is actively requesting a lawyer for his case.

That raises the possibility of severing the trials of the defendants, meaning at least some would be tried separately from Pember.

During Tuesday’s hearing the court noted Charboneau did send a letter “requesting specific counsel appointment.” That letter has been forwarded to the public defender’s office. Charboneau also requested bond modification during the proceeding, though prosecutors objected to it and the court denied the motion.

Two hearings are on the schedule for Charboneau’s case. The first is Aug. 1, while a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13.

Investigators have said the stabbings took place during a botched attempt to recover a $100 drug debt. They initially arrested three people in connection with the events, which sent two people to the hospital with stab wounds in the back.

They charged Charboneau after text messages from Pember to him were found during the investigation. The criminal complaint said the text said Pember “got took on some money” and “needed to make an example.”