Heavy Hitter on a Retreat, Leaves Murder Defendant to Fend for Himself

Glen Lerner, the Vegas attorney known as the Heavy Hitter ("One call; that's all"), failed to appear in court for the defendant in a murder trial.

Apparently, the Heavy Hitter is currently "on sabbatical" in Pennsylvania after "living the life of a Rock Star" and refuses to come back to fulfill his duties as defense counsel in the murder trial.

Courtesy of the Review-Journal:

[The Defendant] Mario Lino faces a life sentence. He told [Judge] Leavitt that no one from Lerner's office had contacted him even after he had family members call the attorney's office. "He (Lerner) hasn't made any effort to work with me," Lino said.

Reached in Pennsylvania, Lerner said he didn't attend the trial because he was out of state and wasn't prepared to go to trial. He said he called the district attorney's office last week to work out a deal for Lino, and when that failed he told the prosecutor that he wanted the trial delayed while he prepared for the case.

So did he appear in court and ask for a continuance because he wasn't ready to proceed? Nope. The Heavy Hitter (who stands about 4 ft 11") left a message on the Prosecuting attorney's voice mail stating that he wouldn't be returning to Las Vegas and "if the judge wants to sanction me, she can sanction me."

One call. That's all [to serve life in prison].