TEEN PLEADS INNOCENT IN INDIAN PARK SHOOTING

An 18-year-old accused of killing another teen-ager in a shootout at Indian Park has pleaded innocent to murder and weapons charges, the Cape Girardeau County prosecutor's office said.

Robert D. Moore, 18, told Circuit Judge John Grimm he was not guilty in the shooting death of 19-year-old Jesus Sides during his arraignment hearing on Tuesday.

During a preliminary hearing in November, Moore said he was aiming at Sides' brother, 17-year-old Solomon Sides, as he shot from a portable toilet in the park on Oct. 19.

Moore said Solomon Sides was brandishing a .22-caliber handgun in the park and had shot at him a week earlier while he was inside his apartment.

Solomon Sides has testified that he got his gun from his brother and fired toward another teen-ager who was pointing a gun in his direction.

Moore told police that he fired his .38-caliber revolver only after Solomon Sides had fired two shots.

Moore and a 16-year-old boy are the only persons charged in the shooting.

Moore will next appear for a hearing before Grimm on Jan. 29.