Two Men Plead Not Guilty in Alleged Murder-For-Hire | News

Two men accused in a Warner Robins murder-for-hire case pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

James "Eddy" Clements and Robert Sybert are accused of killing Joni Clements last year. Police say she was found dead in her Warner Robins home, from multiple gunshot wounds.

After spending nearly a year in the Houston County Jail, James Clements came into the courtroom in an orange jump suit and handcuffs.

He entered a not guilty plea to all fourteen counts against him, including murdering his wife.

The couple's daughter, Jorden Anne Clements, showed her support for her father by sitting with family members on the defenses' side of the courtroom. Last year, she asked the court for her father to be let out of jail on bond. That motion was denied by a judge.

Clements' attorney Laura Hogue says she and her clients look forward to trial. Hogue said, "You can only imagine what they are going through, but they are happy that the state is not seeking the death penalty."

Houston District Attorney George Hartwig says he is seeking the death penalty for the accused shooter, Richard Sybert. He was also scheduled for a court appearance Wednesday, but that was canceled because of the death penalty motion filed last week.

Hartwig said, "Since I went ahead and filed paperwork to seek the death penalty on him, the arraignment has been put on hold."

Hartwig says Richard Sybert's case will take longer to go trial than that of his father's, Robert Sybert, who also pleaded not guilty Wednesday to helping plan Clement's murder.

Hartwig says James Clements and Robert Sybert should go to trial this year. He said it could take several years for Richard Sybert's death penalty case to get to trial.