WJJQ LOCAL NEWS
Ponce-Rocha pleads not guilty
Raul
Ponce-Rocha pled not guilty to one count each of first-degree intentional
homicide on Monday in the May 2, 2009 beating and stabbing death of 18-year-old
Breanna Schneller.
He
also pled not guilty to armed burglary and two counts of theft for stealing
Schneller’s cell phone and underwear.
Prosecutors
filed the burglary and theft charges in July after a judge ordered Ponce-Rocha
to stand trial.
Ponce-Rocha
has denied any involvement in the killing.
Investigators
have matched his DNA to crime scene evidence, including a plastic bag thrown
away in a dumpster outside the Rib Mountain restaurant where he worked that
contained Schneller’s cell phone and a striped glove. The matching glove was found in his apartment.
A
motion hearing is set for November 23.
A two-week jury trial begins February 1, 2010.
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