ITHACA, N.Y. — A man pleaded not guilty in court Thursday afternoon to several charges related to a Newfield homicide that happened earlier this month.
Dennis Lampila, 39, is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and fourth-degree conspiracy. He is alleged to have taken part in a robbery turned deadly on Dec. 2.
Although Lampila has not been formally arrested on the fore mentioned charges, he was initially indicted as a John Doe and is in custody for violating his parole on a DWI charge.
Acting District Attorney Andrew Bonavia asked that Lampila continue to be held in custody because the man had missed his past two parole check ins and is facing 25 years in prison on the murder charge.
Lampila’s attorney Todd Miller said that he is reserving the right to make a formal bail application at this time.
Lampila is scheduled to be in court again in February.
Four other people are also facing charges in connection to the deadly robbery, which resulted in the killing of 30-year-old man Camden Rundell.
Jamie Gerhart, 38, Colleen McColgin, 37 and Roy Clements Jr., 39, have all also been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and fourth-degree conspiracy. Melissa J. Minnick, 39, was charged with felony fourth-degree conspiracy. Those four pleaded not guilty to all the charges against them at the Tompkins County Court last Thursday.
Court documents restated the story already made public about the crime.
The five people conspired to rob Rundell of marijuana plants he was growing in his basement. Gerhart, Rundell’s ex-girlfriend — was the group’s lure to get some of them into the home or on his property.
During the robbery, Clements held Rundell down in his yard, where his body was recovered by police about 100-feet away from the door.
In the court documents, officials released the cause of death, citing an autopsy by Dr. James Terzian. Rundell’s death was the result of “probable asphyxiation, secondary to suffocation.”