HAZARD – The lawyer for one of six Ohio men accused of raping or sodomizing a woman at a motel in Hazard says he believes his client is not guilty of the charge against him, and he will seek to have the case dismissed.

Carlos La’Mar Robinson, 20, of Dayton, was arrested along with five other men in September on charges that they raped and sodomized a woman while she was passed out at the Super 8 Motel in Hazard. The six men were indicted last month, and specifically Robinson is facing one count of first-degree sodomy, a Class B felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Defense attorney Jim Wren entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Robinson last week in Perry Circuit Court, and followed the plea with a verbal motion to have his client’s bond lowered.

Wren said Robinson has no prior record and was gainfully employed at the time of his arrest. He was part of a crew contracted to help move items from the old library on High Street to its new location. Wren added that Robinson’s family is “very supportive” and that considering these circumstances the bond levied against his client is inappropriate.

“I feel very strongly that a half million dollar bond is totally disproportionate,” said Wren.

Wren noted that the indictment against Robinson doesn’t note anything about forcible compulsion, and he believes his client is being falsely charged and plans to file a motion to dismiss the case.

“I truly believe Mr. Robinson is not guilty of sodomy first [degree],” he said, adding that if his motion to dismiss is not granted, he does plan to take the case to trial.

“The Commonwealth opposes the reduction [of bond] for two reasons,” countered Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Charles Allen.

According to Allen, Robinson at first denied his involvement in the incident, and the facts surrounding the allegations suggest that the six men were “acting in concert with one another.”

Additionally, Robinson’s residence in Ohio would complicate his return for court proceedings if he were to leave the jurisdiction of the court, Allen added.

After hearing the arguments, Circuit Judge Bill Engle noted that he is unaware of any of the facts of the case other than what was presented to him last week, but he did order Robinson’s bond lowered. But due to the seriousness of the charge and the fact that Robinson is a resident of Ohio, the bond was only lowered to $150,000 cash.

Robinson is again due back in court for a pretrial conference on April 7, 2010. His trial is set for May 10.

Three of the remaining six men, Doyne Shane Glass, James Devoe, and Terry Bolin, all entered not guilty pleas in their cases last week as well. The trial dates for each men were also set for May 10.