Man charged with death of preganant girlfriend pleads not guilty

<p>A south Georgia man accused of shooting his pregnant girlfriend pleaded not guilty to murder and feticide charges.</p><p>Rodney Lee Driggers, 27, is charged in the December 2004 killing of 17-year-old Megan Victoria "Tori" Lake.</p><p>Lake was about six months pregnant. She died after being shot in the neck from close range with a 12-gauge shotgun.</p><p>Driggers, a self-employed drywall installer, and Lake had lived together and the shooting occurred while the couple was arguing, authorities said.</p><p>Driggers will face trial Oct. 24. Murder and feticide each carry a life prison term with eligibility for parole, according to Georgia law.</p><p>At an earlier hearing, Driggers said the shooting was an accident. His attorneys argued that Driggers had tied a shoe string around the gun's trigger and that he had intended to commit suicide, not murder.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cd9afc)</p>