28-year-old Kelon White is accused of murdering 46-year-old Silvano Villa-Fierro at an apartment on Clinton and Weber avenues in July.
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"Mr. White enters pleas of not guilty to all charges set forth, further denying any special allegations or enhancements," defense attorney Miles Harris told the judge.
Police say White and Villa-Fierro got into a fight before Villa-Fierro died of a single gunshot. It marked the 20th Fresno homicide of 2023.
Four days later, White turned himself in.
At the time, Lt. Paul Cervantes with the Fresno Police Department said White was well known to authorities.
"He is a gang member," Cervantes said. "Some of his criminal history dates all the way back to 2010. Some of those arrests include auto theft, robbery, shootings, and things of that sort."
While he was in court Thursday, White appeared to look directly at the victim's son, who sat in the courtroom gallery.
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In a statement, son Silvano Reyes Villa said it was an honor to call Villa-Fierro his father and said he was "genuinely the nicest person ever."
If convicted of murdering Reyes Villa's father, White could face at least 15 years in prison, plus additional time for having a gun.
But White's attorney told Action News it is important to understand the altercation before the shooting.
"If you don't get the whole story, you are essentially throwing away two lives in the mix," Harris said.
White is being held on $1,645,000 bail and is due back in court on October 5.
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