Man Accused of Killing a Lucerne Man Pleads Not Guilty

The man accused of shooting and killing a Lucerne man this past summer has pleaded not guilty in Lake County Superior Court. Yesterday, Nova Maye Deperno of Occidental was arrested earlier this month on several felony charges and helped detectives locate a body in northern Lake County. Deperno was arrested and formally charged with the death of Ronald Melusa on the 20th. He is being held without bail until his preliminary hearing on March 8th.