A pair of Aurora men have pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges tied to the November death of a 19-year-old man during an alleged drug buy that turned into a robbery attempt.
Leon Williams, 21, and Keyonn Lovelace, 19, each appeared in court recently to deny multiple counts of murder, armed robbery and aggravated discharge of a firearm tied to the Nov. 7 shooting that left Daniel Sanchez dead. Williams and Lovelace were each indicted by a grand jury in March.
Aurora police located Sanchez in an industrial area on South Elmwood Drive that day with gunshot wounds to his head and leg. He died hours later at a hospital.
Evidence at the scene and surveillance video from nearby businesses helped Aurora police connect Lovelace and Williams to the shooting, with prosecutors alleging Williams fired the fatal shots at Sanchez. Court documents indicate the pair made arrangements to buy marijuana from Sanchez and picked him up from the area of Ridgeway Avenue and Lake Street. As they drove to the 600 block of South Elmwood, Williams pulled a handgun on Sanchez and demanded money and drugs as they sat in the back seat, prosecutors said.
A struggle occurred before Sanchez was able to jump out of the car. Williams chased him and fired two shots which struck Sanchez, prosecutors allege.
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Lovelace and Williams are scheduled to return to court Aug. 12.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.