Rockford man pleads not guilty in father's stabbing death

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - A 21-year-old Rockford man has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in his father's stabbing death.

The Rockford Register Star reports that Justin T. Joiner entered the pleas Tuesday to three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated domestic battery in the death of 52-year-old David Joiner. Police found David Joiner stabbed in the chest Feb. 13. He died later that night at a hospital.

Justin Joiner's defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jacob Rubin, declined to comment after the hearing. Justin Joiner's case is next due in court May 8. He is being held in the Winnebago County jail on $1 million bond.

David Joiner's death was the first homicide of the year in Rockford.

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Information from: Rockford Register Star, http://www.rrstar.com