Kendall Brandt
•7/2/2026
Rolbert Joachin, accused in two Fort Myers murder cases, has been assigned criminal defense attorney Lee Hollander after the public defender's office and a representative regional counsel cited conflicts of interest.
Joachin appeared in court on Thursday after the public defender's office and a representative informed the judge that it could not represent him in either case. Hollander, who was assigned to the case, asked over the phone, "Is this the guy with the hammer?"
Joachin is accused of killing 28-year-old Julia Curvo in January, suffocating her and leaving her body on Hough Street near downtown Fort Myers. He is also facing the death penalty after he was accused of murdering a Fort Myers mother working at a gas station on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in April.
The public defender's office filed a notice stating, "The interests of Rolbert Joachin are so adverse and hostile to those of another client and/or an attorney within the Office of the Public Defender that a conflict of interest exists."
Former public defender Michael Raheb explained that conflicts can arise when witnesses or individuals involved in the case have previously been represented by the public defender or regional counsel.
"If this, for example, occurred in downtown Fort Myers and some of the eyewitnesses had been previously arrested and charged, have a good chance that at some point they might have had a record, which means they probably went to the public defender or regional counsel, making them all former clients of both the public defender and regional counsel," Raheb said.
He added, "I don't know that he's hostile to the lawyer, too. Sometimes it's difficult. Having been once court-appointed, having certain indigent clients, in which case, obviously there are."
Joachin's former public defender filed a written plea of not guilty. Hollander declined to comment on the case when contacted.
Joachin is scheduled to appear in court with Hollander on Monday for a motions hearing.
