A man accused of killing another man with a machete pleaded not guilty to murder in Kanawha County Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon.
Brian Dakota Thompson, 23, of Charleston, is charged with killing 19-year-old Brandon Robinson in January and putting his body in the Kanawha River.
Thompson waived his right to a speedy trial before Judge Duke Bloom, and a trial date was set for Oct. 31. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Oct. 23.
Thompson, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and shackles, was escorted to court from South Central Regional Jail where he is being held.
Robinson's body was found in the Kanawha River on Jan. 10, two days after Thompson is alleged to have killed him.
Lt. Steve Cooper, Charleston's chief of detectives, told the Gazette-Mail in January the men were acquaintances who generally were homeless.
On Jan. 8, a woman told police she and Thompson were inside of a tent along the bank of the Kanawha River, behind Lowe's Home Improvement store in Kanawha City, according to the criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
She said Robinson began throwing snowballs at the tent, and a physical altercation began when Thompson exited the tent, according to the complaint.
Thompson is alleged to have attacked Robinson with a machete then stomped on his head during the altercation, according to the complaint.
After that, the witness told police Thompson pushed Robinson's body into the river, according to the complaint.
Thompson reportedly told officers Robinson struck him in the head with a tree branch when he left the tent leading to the altercation.
Robinson's death was the first murder reported in Charleston in 2017, and divers searched the river near the scene on Jan. 9 when the high temperature was 37 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Robinson's body was recovered from the river on Jan. 10, when the high temperature was 57 degrees.
Thompson remained incarcerated Tuesday night at South Central Regional Jail after Bloom denied his bond.
Reach Lacie Pierson at lacie.pierson@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @laciepierson on Twitter.