BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The man accused of attacking a family at a Baton Rouge gas station earlier this year has pleaded not guilty.
WBRZ TV reports Donald Dickerson entered the plea Tuesday during an arraignment on charges of second-degree battery and failure to register as a sex offender.
Police arrested Dickerson in May after they say he attacked a family on Scenic Highway. He reportedly told the victims, who were white, they were "in the wrong neighborhood."
Last month, prosecutors decided not to pursue hate crime charges in the case.
The incident was Dickerson's latest run-in with the law. He had recently been released from prison for purse snatching, carnal knowledge of a juvenile and armed robbery.
The district attorney's office plans to try Dickerson as a habitual offender.