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Not guilty plea
in Williams sister's death

Hammer charged with killing
sibling of Serena, Venus

Williams Sister Murderer Accused Court DatePool via Getty Images file
Aaron Michael Hammer is charged with the death of Yetunde Price, a registered nurse and oldest sister of Venus and Serena Williams.

COMPTON, Calif. - 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.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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