San Diego

Prosecutors filed a special-circumstances allegation Thursday that could lead to the death penalty for a Southeast San Diego man charged with murdering a rookie police officer.

During his Superior Court arraignment, Stacy Butler, 25, denied the allegation filed by Deputy Dist. Atty. Keith Burt that he knowingly killed San Diego Police Officer Jerry Hartless in the performance of the officer’s duties.

Butler, who remains in custody in lieu of $1-million bail, also pleaded innocent to two counts of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and to the Jan. 9 murder of Hartless during a foot pursuit in Southeast San Diego.

Hartless, 24, and his partner were on patrol when they began chasing a man after he and several others saw the patrol car and fled. Hartless’ partner found him lying wounded from a gunshot to the forehead after the chase. He died Jan. 31 without regaining consciousness.

Judge Wayne Peterson scheduled an April 3 trial date for Butler, who has been linked to the .22-caliber weapon tied to the slaying by a witness who says Butler had that handgun and another one shortly after the shooting.