Canadian diplomat`s son pleads not guilty in US murder case

Miami: The teenaged son of a Canadian diplomat pleaded not guilty to US murder charges Monday after a botched drug robbery in which his brother and another man were killed.

Marc Wabafiyebazu, 15, has been charged with first-degree murder in the March 30 fatal shootings in Miami of his brother Jean, 17, and an alleged drug dealer.

The boys` mother, Canada`s consul in Miami, Roxanne Dube, was accompanied at the court hearing by an attorney.

Police said the two brothers drove their mother`s car bearing diplomatic license plates to a Miami apartment complex where they had arranged to buy two pounds of marijuana for $4,800.

Investigators said however that the teens planned to rob the drug dealers of the marijuana.

The robbery plan went badly wrong, although details about how it erupted into gunfire remain sketchy.

Authorities said Wabafiyebazu has been charged with murder because under Florida law, defendants accused of committing certain felonies can also be charged with murder if someone dies during the crime.

One of the drug dealers was killed in the incident and another was wounded by the gunfire, authorities said.

Wabafiyebazu`s attorney Curt Obront told reporters that he plans in coming days to ask the court to have his client freed on bond while awaiting trial, which has been set for July.

"We look forward to our day in court. We have confidence in the criminal justice system," the defense attorney said.