Sex with underage girls, online soliticing, etc., are rampant in this area. But, an interesting legal wrinkle developed in pleas involving an online sting orchestrated by the local PD, with one defendant actually "out-lawing" his public defender:

Jeff Balys met his new attorney on Monday.

The most outspoken of the so-called Yavapai Six defendants accused of online sex chats with an undercover YCSO deputy, Balys, 47, of Cordes Lakes, is facing four counts of luring a child for sexual exploitation and one count of aggravated luring.

He was arrested after Det. Pam Edgerton, playing the role of a 13-year-old girl, said she had conducted several sexually-charged Internet chats with Balys in January 2011, and that he wanted to set up a meeting with the girl she was playing.

Balys is now on his third lawyer.

His first one, public defender John R. Thornton, battled, sometimes publicly, with Balys, who claimed Thornton wanted him to accept a plea agreement that he didn't want. The plea, he argued, was based on the concept that Balys could be accused of a "dangerous crime against a child" - which, Balys correctly said, an Arizona court had recently thrown out because a similar sting did not actually involve a child.

After weeks of arguing, Thornton was replaced by Eric English, and, in public, at least, Balys seemed to get along with him. But in July, English filed a motion asking to be replaced because of an unspecified "conflict."

Balys said the problem was that English, like Thornton, wouldn't listen to him about problems he heard in Edgerton's testimony in two previous cases.

Monday, attorney John Erickson met Balys for the first time, just before appearing before Superior Court Judge Tina Ainley.

"As the court may be aware, I am fairly new to this case," Erickson told Ainley. "This is a pretty complicated case. I am still trying to get to the bottom of it."

Ainley agreed and vacated Balys' October trial dates.

Although Balys has repeatedly refused a plea, Ainley reset the date for November, when, she said, they could discuss a non-trial resolution.

Outside the courtroom, Balys, who is out on bond, said, "I don't think anybody wants to deal with this case."