YOUNGSTOWN - A city man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of murder and possessing a gun while under court-ordered prohibition from having a firearm.
Jamel R. Smith, 20, of Kimmel Avenue, is accused of killing Oneil L. Williams on Nov. 20 at 1948 Atkinson Ave.
Williams, 28, of Pontiac, Mich., was the city's 26th homicide victim of the year and the second of that week. Youngstown had 23 homicides in 2011.
The Mahoning County Coroner's Office said Williams died of gunshot wounds to the head, chest and stomach.
Common Pleas Judge Maureen Sweeney set bond for Smith at $12,500. He faces 15 years to life in prison on the murder charge. A pretrial has been scheduled for Jan. 2.
The day of the shooting, police were called by someone in the house. A man and a woman were in a car in the driveway and told police there was someone inside.
Police found a man lying dead in a puddle of blood from a gunshot wound to the head. There were two spent shell casings next to the victim's body.
The possessing a gun while under prohibition charge stems from a drive-by shooting incident from 2011 in which Smith was accused of firing shots at Jamilha Moore and two children, ages 5 and 2. No one was hit in the incident.
Smith, through his attorney, has indicated to the court that he plans to plead guilty in that incident.
Earlier the same week that Williams was killed, a man was found shot to death in a vehicle at a home on Avondale Avenue on the South Side.
Tribune Chronicle newspartner WYTV contributed to this report.