By Carrie Spencer
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS - Attorneys for the man accused in the series of Columbus-area highway shootings asked the judge to order guards, social workers, other state employees and inmates not to talk to him about the case unless his lawyer is there.

Charles A. McCoy Jr., 28, of Columbus, has pleaded innocent to 24 counts, including the November shooting death of a 62-year-old woman who was the only person hit in the shootings from mid-2003 to Feb. 14. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

McCoy is being medicated for symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, which he's had for 10 years, according to court documents filed Thursday.

The motion seeking to bar jail conversations with McCoy about the charges was one of 69 relating to trial procedures, such as jury selection and requests for all prosecution documents, filed Friday in Franklin County Pleas Court.

Such a request is recommended by the state public defender's office in death penalty cases, Public Defender David Bodiker said.

McCoy's three-attorney team also wants Judge Charles A. Schneider to compel Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien to provide a shorter witness list with only those he intends to call at trial.