LOS ANGELES (AP) — A homeless man who allegedly began screaming and swearing at a 3-year-old child in a Hollywood restaurant has pleaded not guilty to killing a man who tried to protect the boy.
City News Service says 36-year-old Jeremy Harris entered a plea Monday to voluntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors say Harris repeatedly punched 57-year-old Gabriel Ortega in the head when Ortega stepped in front of the boy at a Hollywood McDonald’s in June.
Ortega was hospitalized two days later and died last month.
Authorities say Harris didn’t know the boy.
He faces 11 years in prison if convicted.
