The defense attorney for James T. Conway III, the man accused in the shooting death of Ohio State student Jason Gervais, has been dismissed from the case following prosecution claims that he could be used as a potential witness against his client.

Christopher T. Cicero was dismissed from the case after prosecutors learned he was present while Conway used Cicero’s cell phone to call his cousin, who prosecutors say Conway had asked to kill a witness to Gervais’ murder.

Cicero is appealing the dismissal.

“I didn’t overhear the conversation. I was there with him and he wanted to make a phone call to his cousin, and it turned out that the confidential informant is his cousin,” Cicero said.

A confidential informant is a person police have made an arrangement with to maintain contact with a suspect, said OSU law professor Doug Berman. The informant can be either a police officer or an ordinary citizen.

“It’s sort of like a temporary private detective, but the rest of the world doesn’t know he’s an informant,” Berman said. “The person is planning to tell police whatever he finds or discovers.”

The prosecution was recording the conversation and later determined it took place on Cicero’s phone, Cicero said.

Prosecutors requested the judge dismiss the attorney, said Franklin County prosecutor Ron O’Brien. “The judge indicated that Cicero should be dismissed because he could be a potential witness.”

This type of dismissal is fairly rare, Berman said.

“Most defense attorneys know better than to let this stuff happen to begin with,” Berman said. “If this sort of thing happens, the attorney generally has his own things going on and probably shouldn’t be representing the client at all.”

Though prosecutors could technically use Cicero as a witness against his former client, Cicero said chances of that happening are low.

“They will never use me in a million years. It’s just a red herring,” he said. “All I did was use my cell phone for him to call the confidential informant. It’s no different than if he would have used a pay phone.”

Cicero’s appeal should be heard within a week, although his future with the case is uncertain.

“The more information I get, the more I’m deciding I may not continue for personal reasons,” Cicero said.

According to local media, Cicero was removed from a separate murder trial after Franklin County Common Pleas Judge John P. Bessey accused him of striking his client on Tuesday.

Another attorney involved in Conway’s trial, Assistant State Prosecutor David DeVillers, has also resigned as prosecutor for the case after taking a job with another firm. He will continue to work on the case, O’Brien said.

There will likely be a delay in the case while new attorneys are found, though the time frame for the delay can’t be specified, O’Brien said.

Conway is also involved in two other aggravated murder cases, including the stabbing murder of Andrew Dotson of Hilliard. He has also been charged with six counts of conspiracy to commit murder.

Conway is thought to be the ringleader of a violent south side gang, and has been accused of drawing up a hit list to kill witnesses who could incriminate the gang. The hit list could include names of witnesses to the shooting of Gervais.

“A conspiracy charge is equally as severe as a murder charge. If he is convicted, the defendant will be punished as if he had committed the crime. In this case, the multiple murder charges make this a more serious charge,” Berman said.