Man pleads in Williams' sister's death ( 2003-12-17 21:30) (Agencies)
The man accused of killing the sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena
Williams pleaded innocent Tuesday.
A Jan. 15 pretrial hearing was scheduled for Aaron Michael Hammer. He could
face life in prison if convicted of murdering Yetunde Price, 31, who was shot in
September.
Price was a registered nurse and beauty shop owner. She also was a personal
assistant to her sisters, who began their tennis careers in Compton before
moving to Florida in their teens.
Hammer is charged with murder and with possession of a firearm by a felon
because of previous convictions for check forgery and commercial burglary.
He is in custody on $1 million bail.
At an earlier hearing, a Los Angeles County sheriff's detective said Hammer
acknowledged firing about six shots from a .22-caliber rifle during the
shooting.
But prosecutors have said the shot that killed Price did not come from a
.22-caliber weapon.
"He's not the one that fired the fatal shot. He shot independent of the
person that fired the AK-47" that killed Price, defense attorney Michael Clark
said after Tuesday's hearing.
An assault rifle was found after the shooting. No other arrests have been
made.
