A judge denied a Gary man’s bid to fire his lawyer Wednesday on the third day of his trial for a carjacker’s killing.
Rashad Thompson, 38, is charged with murder, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, unlawful carrying of a handgun, two counts of felony dealing in marijuana, misdemeanor dealing in marijuana and a gun enhancement.
He has pleaded not guilty.
He told Senior Judge Kathleen Lang he is frustrated with defense lawyer Michael Campbell and said his “due process” rights were violated. Can I get a new lawyer, he asked.
Lang responded that his only legal option now would be to represent himself.
When he declined, Lang said it was a “personality” conflict.
“You hired him,” she told Thompson. “He’s doing the best he can.”
Campbell said in court while following his defense strategy, he has to obey legal rules, including motions in limine – or what both sides agree to not to tell jurors.
Lang agreed, but acknowledged there wasn’t a “meeting of the minds.”
When Leroy McCambry stole a Jeep from an East 5th Avenue gas station in Gary, he unwittingly interrupted Thompson reselling marijuana edibles inside, court records allege. He ended up getting chased and shot on the road, flipping and wrecking a home’s garage on the city’s west side two miles away.
McCambry, 22, of Chicago, was found fatally shot in the torso in the vehicle under a pile of debris on the 300 block of Hayes Street. He was pronounced dead at 8:10 p.m. and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
On Tuesday, Deputy Prosecutors Keith Anderson and Jacquelyn Altpeter played a home surveillance video showing the Jeep demolishing a neighboring garage.
The homeowner with the video testified he saw two men with guns. He grabbed his own rifle and ushered his wife inside.
“Where he at,” a man said a couple times, he testified. The man was referring to the carjacker.
On cross-examination, the man told Campbell – representing Thompson with co-counsel Ferdinand Alvarez – he was focused on protecting his family and couldn’t give a detailed description of the men.
Thompson’s brother Maurice, the alleged accomplice, was charged with murder in May 2024. However, prosecutors filed to dismiss his case on Jan. 29, saying they couldn’t prove it.
The trial continues this week.
mcolias@post-trib.com
