•March 8, 2019•

An aged and heavier Michael Yost sat alone at the defense table in Moultrie County court Thursday, March 7 as the Honorable Judge Hugh Finson appointed Walter Lookofsy to defend him.
He will return to Moultrie County Court at 3:00 p.m.Tuesday, April 2 after consulting with his new attorney.
The Illinois Appellate Court directed the Krankel hearing in Moultrie County to determine if Yost, 45, was ineffectively represented by counsel during his Sept. 2016 trial.
Judge Finson asked States Attorney Tracy Weaver about the Krankel filing in Moultrie County Court which she noted was made in 2016.
At that point a shackled Yost approached the bench, providing Judge Finson with his original Sept. 2016 Krankel filing.
In that filing, upheld by the Appellate Court on Jan 18, Yost maintained that public defender Brad Rau should not have represented him since he had previously represented murder victim Sheri Randall in a court proceeding.
Yost went on to request private counsel be appointed since his filing was based on incompetent representation by the court appointed public defender.
After Judge Finson dismissed Moultrie Co. Public Defender Marvin Hanson because had been involved in a previous case with Yost, Walter B. Lookofsy was appointed Yost’s new attorney with a 3:00 p.m. April 2 court date set to continue the Krankel hearing.
Those attending the proceedings were Randall’s family, friends and DOVE Domestic Violence counselors.
Yost was sentenced to 75 years by Circuit Judge Dan Flannell with the Illinois Dept. of Corrections in Oct. 2016 for the murder of 43 year old Sheri Randall of Sullivan.