Man pleads not guilty in downstate killing

MOUNDS CITY -- A February trial is scheduled for a southern Illinois man who's pleaded not guilty in the shotgun killing of another man more than four years ago.

Zacchaeus Macklin entered the plea Monday in Pulaski County Circuit Court.

He's charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, armed robbery, unlawful use of weapons, concealment of a homicidal death and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Authorities say he robbed 23-year-old Trae Hannah in December 2005 and killed the man with a blast to the head from a sawed-off shotgun. Investigators say Macklin then drove the body to a remote, wooded area and burned it in the victim's car.

Macklin was arrested last June. His trial has been scheduled for Feb. 22.