Man accused in fatal Thanksgiving Day shooting pleads not guilty

By Cara McCoy

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 | 12:27 p.m.

The 20-year-old man accused of shooting to death another man on Thanksgiving Day in the parking lot of a northwest Las Vegas pharmacy appeared today in district court, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Lionel B. Collins III, 20, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, robbery and burglary, all with a deadly weapon, as well as charges of discharging a firearm into a structure and carrying a concealed weapon.

A trial date was set for July 19.

Prosecutors say the shooting stemmed from a drug-related dispute on Nov. 26, 2009, in the parking lot of CVS pharmacy, 7190 W. Craig Road, at the intersection of Tenaya Way.

McClain Kenton Zornes, 19, of Las Vegas, tried to drive away from the scene but died from a gunshot wound as his car struck a curb and a tree before eventually flipping over.

A man who was a passenger in Zornes’ car testified at Collins’ preliminary hearing in March that Zornes had plans to meet a man at CVS to sell him a small amount of marijuana.

Zornes and Collins started scuffling in the car, and the witness aided in the scuffle by pulling Collins by the hair to get him out of the car and into the parking lot, he testified.

When Zornes began to drive away, the shots were fired. Prosecutors said that during the altercation, Collins took a bag of marijuana without paying for it.

Collins was arrested the day after the shooting and is being held in the Clark County Detention Center. Jail records also show he was sentenced to jail time Dec. 18, 2009, in a separate case on charges of assault and harassment.