A 43-year-old Coachella Valley advertising executive accused of driving drunk and fatally hitting a Cathedral City woman riding her scooter with her small dog pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and other charges.

William Frank Rodriguez was arrested and booked into the Benoit Detention Center in Indio Monday after a warrant was served at his Palm Springs residence.

Along with murder, Rodriguez is charged with hit-and-run resulting in great bodily injury and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended or revoked driver’s license stemming from a prior DUI conviction.

Rodriguez was arraigned Wednesday before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Oct. 24 at the Larson Justice Center. The defendant’s attorneys also submitted

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