Man who burned a Virginia city councilman intended to kill him, police say

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Man who burned a Virginia city councilman intended to kill him, police say

2025-08-01 06:59 Last Updated At：07:01

DANVILLE, Va. (AP) — Police say a man who doused a Virginia city councilman in gasoline and set him on fire told investigators he wanted the attack to be fatal, according to charging documents available Thursday.

Officials say the motive appears personal and unrelated to Lee Vogler’s work as a public official. After Wednesday's attack, the 38-year-old father of two was flown by medical helicopter to a burn unit in North Carolina. The hospital hasn't provided an update on his condition.

According to police, witnesses and Vogler himself, Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes, 29, poured gasoline on the councilman after barging into his workplace at a local magazine. Buck-Hayes chased Vogler outside and ignited the gas, later telling police he intended for the flames to kill him, according to the documents.

Buck-Hayes has since been charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding. Edward Lavado, an attorney representing him, declined to comment to The Associated Press on Thursday.

At the scene, Vogler was able to tell multiple witnesses that Buck-Hayes had burned him, according to the charging documents. The complaint doesn't give details on how Buck-Hayes was taken into custody. The records were first reported by the Danville Register and Bee.

Vogler has served on the Danville City Council for more than a decade and is known as a fixture of the small city near the Virginia-North Carolina state line, about 140 miles (230 kilometers) north of Charlotte. The police documents list a Danville address for Buck-Hayes as well.

His wife, Blair Vogler, issued a statement Thursday thanking first responders for helping him and speaking about his public service.

“As anyone who knows him would expect, he is facing this challenge the same way he’s faced every obstacle in his life—with courage, determination, and an unbreakable spirit,” the statement said. “Lee is a fighter."

Andrew Scott Brooks, editor and publisher of Showcase Magazine, says the attacker forced his way into the office despite the door being locked and went straight for Vogler.

“The next thing, Lee is running through the office covered in gasoline, yelling for our officemate to call 911,” Brooks said Wednesday.

Buck-Hayes was being held without bail in the Danville City Jail, records show.

A South Korean court sentences Yoon to 5 years in prison on charges related to martial law decree

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.

Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.

The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.

In Friday's case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting.

Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.

Yoon, who can appeal the ruling, hasn’t immediately publicly responded to the ruling. But when the independent counsel demanded a 10-year prison term in the case, Yoon’s defense team accused them of being politically driven and lacking legal grounds to demand such “an excessive” sentence.

Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.

Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.

South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.