WILMINGTON — A murder suspect has rejected a plea deal.

Joshua Lee Cordell Williams, 18, rejected a deal in Clinton County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday.

Because of this, a jury trial scheduled to begin July 28 will continue, along with a final pretrial hearing on July 10.

Andrew McCoy of the Clinton County Prosecutor’s Office could not comment since the case was ongoing.

Court-appointed defense councilor Kirk McVay could not be immediately reached for comment.

Williams, along with Christian Terry, 22, Kevin Lane Noe Jr., 21, and Corey Ruffner, 22 — all currently incarcerated in the Clinton County Jail — are suspected of being involved in the shooting death of 23-year-old Layne Hall.

Court documents state that the victim and three of the suspects allegedly rode in a car together to meet someone at the Brownberry Apartments parking lot; soon after the four arrived, the person they were to meet — allegedly Williams — pulled up in a car, and shortly after that is when gunfire was heard.

Although court documents don’t allege that Terry, Noe, or Ruffner purposely killed Hall, it alleges that if they had not taken part in initiating an alleged robbery, the death would not have occurred.

Williams is suspected of directly causing Hall’s death. Clinton County Prosecutor Richard Moyer said during the indictment that the charge against Williams — unlike the charges against the other three — alleges the “purposeful killing of another” as a direct consequence of his own action.

During an appearance in Clinton County Municipal Court in January, Williams told Judge Mike Daugherty, “I want to tell the whole truth.”