Stevie Wonder poses in the press room at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 20, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABC)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two people charged with extorting singer Stevie Wonder have pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles court.
District attorney’s spokeswoman Jane Robison says Alpha L. Walker and Tamara Diaz entered the pleas Thursday and will return to court in the future for a pretrial hearing.
Walker is Wonder’s cousin and is accused of trying to extort the Grammy-winning musician over a video that portrays Wonder negatively. Walker and Diaz, his girlfriend, were arrested in May after receiving $10,000 from Wonder’s attorney in a police sting.
Walker’s attorney says his client simply made a movie about his life and his actions are protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
