A United States magistrate judge in Raleigh today denied a motion filed by a Roanoke Rapids man who was seeking new counsel for his weapons case.

Documents available for inspection in the file of Michael Christopher Harris only show that Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers II denied the motion.

Harris and his current counsel appeared before the court along with the assistant United States attorney.

In a letter to District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan dated March 15 Harris wrote he believed his current counsel is ineffective. He claimed in the document that he and the attorney couldn’t come to common ground on matters concerning discovery in his case.

In February Harris pleaded not guilty to the two counts he faces and his trial was set to commence in July in New Bern.

He consented to a magistrate arraignment and pleaded not guilty to counts 1 and 2 of his indictment — a charge he possessed ammunition while previously being convicted of a crime on November 21 of 2018 and the second that he possessed a firearm and ammo around April 3 of 2019.

Proceedings in his case were slowed due to a competency hearing. Results of that hearing have been completed but are sealed from public inspection.

The only reference made in court documents to possible competency issues regarding Harris was made in a motion last year by his attorney which said he “continues to have concern regarding Mr. Harris’s competency, and needs to consult with additional experts to determine the extent of damage caused to Mr. Harris’s brain when he sustained a gunshot wound to his head on April 3, 2019.”

The federal indictment warrants stem from two separate shooting investigations that took place in Northampton County on November 21 of 2018 and April 3 of 2019.