Louis M. Duffy, who is accused of
killing Clinton “Billy” Lewis, a gay man, on Wednesday entered a
plea of not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder and two counts
of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, the Elmira
Star-Gazette reported.
Twenty-year-old Louis M. Duffy was
arrested hours after the Sunday, May 1 slaying and police say he
confessed to shooting Lewis in the head inside Lewis' apartment,
which is located across the street from Club Chill, an Elmira, New
York gay bar and club Lewis owned and operated. Duffy led police to
the place he had hidden the Springfield Armory model XDM .40 caliber
semi-automatic pistol he used to kill Lewis.
While not divulging the motivation
behind the killing, police insisted Lewis, 53, was not killed because
he was gay. “He was not killed because he was gay,” Captain
Joseph Kain, commander of the Elmira Detective Bureau, said shortly
after Duffy's arrest.
Duffy told the judge that he lived in
Horsehead, a town that borders Elmira, with two friends. He is
expected back in court on June 13.