Gerald Lee Hogue is scheduled to go on trial in Perry County later this month, though court filings and past conduct suggest he is unlikely to appear.
Hogue, one of three men from Missouri arrested in 2021 in connection with a shooting in Marion, faces multiple felony charges. He is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied building, two counts of discharging a firearm into an unoccupied building, one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, two counts of receiving stolen property in the second degree, one count of marijuana possession in the second degree, and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Authorities have said the men were believed to be acting as “hit men” when they opened fire on two individuals in Marion.
Hogue was taken into custody on April 7, 2021, after he and his co-defendants allegedly led law enforcement on a pursuit spanning nearly ten miles. He was booked into the Perry County Jail on a $315,000 bond and remained in custody for nearly two years.
Hogue posted bond in March 2023. Court filings indicate he left Alabama shortly after and returned to Missouri.
His attorney filed a motion in July of that year seeking a continuance of a scheduled trial, citing a medical record showing that Hogue had been treated for respiratory failure and was awaiting surgery.
Hogue failed to appear for trial in July 2024. A bench warrant was issued, and his bond was revoked. He again failed to appear for a rescheduled trial in February 2025, and the court issued a second bench warrant for failure to appear.
The trial is currently set to begin on July 21, 2025. Earlier this month, Hogue’s attorney filed another motion to continue, citing his own family commitments out of state and noting that Hogue had not appeared for the previous two trial dates.
Judge Don McMillan denied the continuance, stating in a court order that Hogue “is, and has been, FTA” with a warrant already issued.
The order also noted that if Hogue is apprehended, he will be held in the Perry County Jail pending trial. The court ruled that the case would not be continued and that Hogue’s attorney “need not appear on this case since his client remains at large.”
