Grand jury indicts suspect for setting local Virginia politician on fire
A grand jury has indicted Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes on multiple charges,including attempted first-degree murder,aggravated malicious wounding,and breaking and entering while armed,after he set Danville,Virginia Councilman Lee Vogler on fire during the summer. The attack occurred when Buck-Hayes forcibly entered Vogler’s office, doused him with gasoline, and ignited him outside the building. Vogler sustained severe burns over more than 60% of his body and required extensive skin grafts.After nearly three months of treatment at the UNC Burn Clinic, Vogler was discharged earlier than expected and made a public appearance at a city council meeting. The trial is scheduled for January 6,2026,pending a mental health evaluation,as the defense is considering an insanity plea. The motive appears linked to an alleged affair between Vogler and Buck-Hayes’s ex-wife, with whom Buck-Hayes had recently filed for divorce.
Grand jury indicts suspect for setting local Virginia politician on fire
A grand jury indicted the suspect who allegedly set a local Virginia politician on fire over the summer on three charges.
Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes was indicted on Monday related to attempted first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding, and breaking and entering while armed with a deadly weapon for burning Danville Councilman Lee Vogler. The third charge was the latest to be filed.
The case will now head to trial. Local news reports indicated the judge decided this month to reschedule the trial for Jan. 6, 2026, to allow time for a mental health evaluation. The defendant’s attorneys are exploring an insanity defense. It remains unclear whether the trial date will be upheld at this time.
In late July, Buck-Hayes forcibly entered Vogler’s office at Showcase Magazine in Danville and doused the Republican councilman with gasoline. Buck-Hayes then chased Vogler outside the building before setting him on fire.
Vogler suffered second-degree and third-degree burns on more than 60% of his body and needed roughly 35% of his skin grafted to cover the severe burns, according to his wife.
Initially expected to recover by spring 2026, Vogler was medically discharged months in advance.
He returned home last Tuesday from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Burn Clinic, where he was hospitalized for nearly three months. He attended a Danville City Council meeting later that day in his first public appearance since the attack.
“I didn’t miss a council meeting for 13 years. When I heard I could come home on the 21st … I thought, ‘There’s a council meeting that day,’” Vogler said. “My doctors said, ‘You’re not going, are you?’ And I said, ‘I wouldn’t miss it.’”
SUSPECT WHO ALLEGEDLY LIT VIRGINIA COUNCILMAN ON FIRE SAYS AFFAIR FUELED ATTACK
It appears Buck-Hayes tried to kill Vogler due to an alleged marital affair between his ex-wife and Vogler.
The attack came weeks after Buck-Hayes and his ex-wife filed for divorce. Vogler has two young children with his wife, Blair Vogler.
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