Ricky Steve "Gypsy" John will stand trial in May on first-degree murder and drug charges.
John appeared in front of Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Carrie Webster on Friday for a plea hearing, but changed his mind and decided he wants to go to trial instead, his attorney Shawn Bayliss told the judge.
John, 41, is accused of killing Winston Thomas in December 2014 on Charleston's West Side. Thomas, 47, was shot to death in front of his home on Hunt Avenue.
Bayliss said he worked for months with prosecutors to negotiate a deal for John.
"We came close," he told Webster on Friday.
According to prosecutors, John and Tommissina Brooks, 29, went to Thomas' home to purchase marijuana.
Brooks went into the house first, assistant Kanawha prosecutor Maryclaire Akers said. John later knocked on the door, went inside and a fight started. The fight eventually spilled out onto the street, Akers said.
Thomas called Kanawha Metro 911 after being shot. He died while on the phone with dispatchers, Akers said.
Brooks also was indicted on a murder charge, but it was dismissed last year when she took a deal with prosecutors and said she would cooperate in their case against John. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance but won't be sentenced until John's case is concluded.