Suspect in toll plaza shootings pleads not guilty
Associated Press
November 6, 2009
MARTINEZ, CALIF. —
A man charged in the double murder of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend at the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge toll plaza has pleaded not guilty.
Forty-six-year-old Nathaniel Burris's plea on Friday came three months after he told a Contra Costa County judge that he wanted to plead guilty. The judge refused to accept the plea at the time.
Burris has been charged with two counts of murder along with special circumstances in the Aug. 11 shootings of 51-year-old Deborah Ross and 58-year-old Ersie Everette III.
Authorities say Burris set a trap for the pair by slashing Everette's tires in the toll plaza parking lot. When Everette went to the truck to call for road service, Burris allegedly shot him, then went to Ross's toll booth and shot her.
Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.
