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A Roanoke Rapids man who claims his innocence in a pair of Northampton County shootings will be allowed to have a change of plea hearing next week, according to federal court records.

The records do not indicate whether Michael Christopher Harris, who entered a not guilty plea in February, will plead guilty to the charges lodged against him.

The United States Eastern District of North Carolina court posted today in electronic records that the hearing for Harris will be held on July 6 at 9:30 a.m. in New Bern. The hearing will be held before Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones Jr.

Harris’s request for a new attorney was denied last month. 

In a letter he sent to District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan in April in which he requested a new attorney, Harris also claimed he was framed and says his right to a speedy trial is being infringed.

“I have been incarcerated for almost 4 1/2 years. During this case I was shot three times,” he said in the letter. “I have been set up while the real shooters are still out there. My motion of discovery shows proof of wrongful doing but I’m being held for no reason.”

He said the case is based on him inquiring about money he was owed. “I own a mom and pop clothing store but I work hard for my money and loaned money to the young men and they wouldn’t pay. My attorney knows it’s foul play but refuses to apply pressure.”

He faces two federal weapons counts — a charge that he possessed ammunition while previously being convicted of a crime on November 21 of 2018 and the second that he possessed a firearm and ammo around April 3 of 2019.

The federal indictment warrants stem from two separate shooting investigations that took place in Northampton County on November 21 of 2018 and April 3 of 2019.