The alleged gunman in the deadly 2017 robbery of La Placita market will have a court appearance after an apparent request for a new attorney.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers has ordered a hearing Feb. 24 at the federal courthouse in Louisville after Jonny Alexander Reyes-Martinez, 30, wrote a letter to the judge in the case.

The letter was received Feb. 7 and filed under seal. But Stivers, in setting the court date, said he construed Reyes-Martinez’s letter as a motion for appointment of a new attorney.

Reyes-Martinez is charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, conspiracy to carry or possess a firearm during a crime of violence, murder through use of a firearm during a crime of violence and illegal possession of a firearm.

He is accused of shooting and killing Jose Cruz, 31, of Bowling Green, during a robbery at the Morgantown Road store March 17, 2017.

Reyes-Martinez and four other Nashville residents are accused of taking part in the robbery and are also named in an indictment charging a total of 13 people with taking part in numerous robberies of primarily Hispanic-owned businesses across four states.

Federal public defenders Scott Wendelsdorf and Don Meier have been appointed to represent Reyes-Martinez.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky is not seeking the death penalty for any of the defendants.

Lilian Duron, accused of being an accomplice in the robbery, has pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by robbery and is awaiting sentencing.

Jorge Santos Caballero-Melgar and Jose Adan Mejia Varela have been charged with the same offenses as Reyes-Martinez.

Additionally, Caballero-Melgar is charged with illegal reentry after deportation and Varela is charged with illegal possession of a firearm.

Estrellita Soto is charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and interference with commerce by robbery.

According to a federal indictment, about $23,500 in cash was taken from La Placita when it was robbed.

Federal court records feature allegations that Reyes-Martinez and Varela carried out the robbery, and that as Varela left the store, he realized Reyes-Martinez was taking a little longer to leave.

When Varela went back inside, he saw Reyes-Martinez fighting with a man who had just entered the store, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Varela attempted to separate Reyes-Martinez and the man, later identified as Cruz, during which Reyes-Martinez shot Cruz and also struck Varela, the criminal complaint detailed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford said at an earlier court hearing that the La Placita employees were bound and restrained with duct tape during the robbery, and the federal indictment said that was a common occurrence in the other robberies.

The group allegedly surveilled the exterior and interior of the businesses they planned to rob, communicated with one another by cellphone during each incident, attempted to conceal their identities with hooded sweatshirts, hats and gloves, and threatened people with weapons that included firearms and a hatchet, according to the indictment.