R-C Evening Report

Convicted bank robber Steven Simmons wants to fire his court-appointed lawyer, Tod Young.

In a letter to District Judge Michael Gibbons, the 27-year-old Mammoth Lakes man accused Young of a "dirty trick" by implicating a friend of Simmons in the Nov. 22, 2005, armed robbery of the Minden branch of Bank of America.

Young said Wednesday it would be inappropriate to comment on Simmons' allegations.

"I guess we will just go to court and he can ask for a new lawyer," Young said Wednesday.

Simmons was convicted Thursday by a jury of nine men and three women and is set for sentencing March 12.

He faces up to 30 years in prison and is being held without bail in Douglas County Jail.

"During his closing segment he (Young) implicated Sean Johnson without warning me and the DA blamed me for it. I am appalled by his dirty trick and no longer wish to deal with him. I feel he never had an interest in helping me," Simmons wrote in the letter.

Gibbons set a hearing for Monday on the request.

Alpine County residents will be meeting 5-7 p.m. Friday to discuss the future of Markleeville, including moving county offiices to Turtle Rock Park and what residents think of improving and expanding the Alpine County Airport. The meeting will be held at the community center in the park.