LUZERNE COUNTY—It is a case that shocked Luzerne County in 2009 and it continues toi have many twists and turns.
Cody Lee was arrested in 2009, as a teenager, charged with shooting and killing his 80-year old great-grandfather Herbert Lee.
Lee was found dead at the home he shared with Cody Lee and Cody’s father, Scott Lee in Lake Township.
Investigators said Cody Lee planned the killing, going so far as to plot out his plan in a notebook that included a floor plan of his home.
Cody lee’s father told police at the time he discovered his dead father and his son with a gun, before his son ran off, with no coat on that old winter day.
Investigators said Lee spent hours in the woods before he was found and arrested.
In January of this year, charges against Cody Lee were dismissed by a district magistrate for lack of evidence. Seconds later, Lee was re-arrested and later re-charged.
It was a move that his lawyer called ‘illegal” and “malicious.”
“They weren’t happy with what happened, and they took it upon themselves to take Mr. Lee into custody and to handcufff him and remove him from the courtroom without any warrant, without any paper and without any new probable cause. Their case had just been dismissed and they weren’t happy about it,” said Peter Paul Olszewski, Lee’s defensee attorney, in January.
A new hearing was scheduled for February, where Cody Lee’s own father was called to testify. On the stand, he contradicted an original statement to state police.
Investigators say Scott Lee first told troopers he arrived home that day, at one point had a gun aimed at him and then wrestled a gun from his son, Cody Lee’s hand. But at the hearing, Scott Lee testified he found Cody with a gun trembling in the bathroom, saying someone was in their house.
“He lost his grandfather, it’s very trying to be on the stand and be cross-examined and have to testify against your own son. While we tried to avoid that the first time, it couldn’t be avoided,” said Assistant District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce after the hearing in February.
Most recently, there have been negotiations for a plea deal.
But Cody Lee’s own family told Newswatch 16 Monday there are problems. Some family members want Lee in prison for a long time, others do not
Despite meeting with a judge for several hours Monday, there was no agreement.
A trial has been set for September 16th.
Cody Lee and his attorney could decide on a plea deal before then.
