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Florida bank massacre suspect enters not guilty plea

Posted at 12:48 PM, Feb 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-22 12:48:29-05

SEBRING, Fla. (AP) — A man arrested in the fatal shootings of five women at a Florida bank last month has entered a plea of not guilty.

Zephen Xaver filed the written not guilty plea Wednesday.

Xaver requested a jury trial and says he will likely file a motion challenging the legality of his indictment. Xaver waived his right to appear at an arraignment hearing that had been scheduled for next Monday.

Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty against the 21-year-old Xaver.

Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted Xaveron five counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of four employees and a customer at the SunTrust bank in Sebring, Florida.

Sebring police say the women were shot in an apparently random act of violence.