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.