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IRONTON - Bond was set at $500,000 Thursday in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court for an Ironton man charged with stabbing his stepfather to death in Ironton earlier this year.

James F. Wilson, 31, of the 600 block of North 6th Street, Ironton, pleaded innocent to charges of murder and tampering with evidence. He was indicted in the case earlier last week.

Judge Christen Finley appointed Gene Meadows, a Scioto County lawyer, to represent Wilson in the case. She also set a pretrial in the case for Oct. 16.

Wilson is charged with stabbing Harold D. Taylor to death during an altercation at the corner of South 9th and Spruce streets in Ironton last month.

If convicted, Wilson faces a maximum three years in prison on the tampering charge and from 15 years to life on the murder charge.

While Wilson was armed with a knife, Taylor had a machete and a baseball bat, according to testimony in the case, according to authorities.

The case was investigated by Ironton police and presented Monday to a special grand jury, Prosecuting Attorney Brigham Anderson said.

Wilson was escorted to the Lawrence County Jail following the return of the indictment.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated murder case last week, Finley recused herself from presiding over the trial of Belinda S. Adkins, also known as Belinda Jones, 41, of Township Road 279E, South Point.

The case either will be transferred to Judge Andy Ballard or a special judge. The trial earlier was set for Oct. 7.

Adkins is charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, Joshua C. Jones, 39, of South Point, in the McDonald's parking lot earlier this year. She entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. She subsequently was found competent to stand trial.

She is being held on $1 million bond while the case is pending.