Man Pleads Not Guilty In Death

SEATTLE - A man pleaded not guilty yesterday to a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a Ballard locksmith and the attempted rape of the locksmith's girlfriend.

Curtis Solomon, 39, was being held on $500,000 bond in the Aug. 13 slaying of John Eshom, 49, who was shot three times in the head.

Solomon was arrested near the apartment by officers responding to a 911 call from Eshom's girlfriend. She told police she was awakened when someone tried to rip her clothes off, according to charging papers. When Eshom awoke and tried to intervene, he was shot by her attacker, she said.