Teen pleads not guilty in stepdad's shooting

FALMOUTH, Mass. (AP) -- An 18-year-old Falmouth teen has pleaded not guilty to charges including assault with intent to murder in the shooting of his stepfather.

The Cape Cod Times reports a prosecutor said Friday that Devante Fernandes came to his mother's house Thursday after she called him for help against alleged abuse by her husband. Prosecutor Michael Donovan said Fernandes critically wounded 40-year-old John Williams with a .22-caliber rifle.

Fernandes' lawyer, Robert Nolan, said the youth was defending his mother and himself from long-standing abuse by Williams.

A 16-year-old police said fled the house along with Fernandes was arrested shortly afterward and faces a juvenile charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Fernandes was arrested at another Falmouth home after a three-hour manhunt. Charges were dropped against three people arrested as accessories after the fact.

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