61-year-old man pleads not guilty

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Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2004 | 10:54 a.m.

A 61-year-old man charged with killing his roommate and placing his body in a freezer pleaded not guilty to a murder charge today.

Lawrence Pruett is charged with murder with use of a deadly weapon in the July 3 shooting of his "part-time roommate," 45-year-old Bradley Millisor.

District Judge Sally Loehrer scheduled Pruett's trial for Jan. 24 after he waived his right to a speedy trial.

Prosecutors have decided not to pursue the death penalty against Pruett.

According to an arrest report, Pruett told police he shot Millisor with a shotgun after Millisor tried to attack him with a knife.

Millisor was found dead inside a freezer in front of Pruett's double-wide mobile home near Lake Mead and Nellis boulevards on July 8.

Pruett told police he feared for his life and shot Millisor, then placed his body in the freezer. He paid friends to bury the body in the desert, but they dumped the freezer with the body inside in Pruett's driveway a few days later, according to the arrest report.