A Gardena man accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend in Hawthorne pleaded not guilty Friday to murder.
Donte Bay McNeil, 22, is charged in a car-to-car shooting just before 1 a.m. Wednesday that killed 31-year-old Azaam Stallsworth.
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The murder charge includes a special circumstance allegation of murder while lying in wait, along with an allegation of discharging a firearm.
Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against McNeil.
Stallsworth was driving his girlfriend's car through an alley in the area of South Prairie Avenue as she sat in the passenger seat when McNeil allegedly drove slowly toward them and both cars stopped side to side, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
McNeil allegedly fired upon Stallsworth, who then crashed into a gate, authorities said.
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McNeil was arrested later the same day, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Inmate Information Center website.
