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Trial Set For Teens In Pizza Driver Killing

2 Plead Not Guilty To Murder Charges

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The trial for two teens charged with the murder of a pizza delivery woman has now been set.

Jonathan Hartley, 15, and Keon Sams, 17, appeared at their arraignment Tuesday morning. Their families stood with them as they pleaded not guilty.

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Their trial is scheduled to begin March 22.

Police said Hartley shot and killed 57-year-old Sarah Hotham on Dec. 4 after she was called to an abandoned apartment in Murray Hill to deliver a pizza.

Police said Sams wasn't there and left because he didn't want to miss curfew. Investigators said Sams is accused of providing the gun that Hartley used in the crime.

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After Tuesday's hearing, several of Sams' relatives offered their condolences to Hotham's family, and both sides said it is a tragedy in many ways.

"If it was one of my loved ones in that position and got killed, I would feel the same way the family's hurting," said Douglas Dixon, Sams' uncle. "We're all human beings and my nephew made a mistake, but those people are hurting, also."

Added Roxanne Davis Tweedy, Hotham's sister: "I don't mind them coming by and apologizing. I know they're hurting, too. I wish it would have never happened. I'll never get my sister back. They're never going to get them back either, as far as I'm concerned, 'cause they're going to be locked away forever."

Neither Sams nor Hartley said anything to the judge. They are both being tried as adults.


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