RACINE - A judge approved murder suspect Antonio Shannon's request to withdraw his guilty plea Friday, setting his case in connection with a fatal shooting on a trial track once again.

Shannon, 30, and his brother, Terry, were charged with the May 7, 2006, shooting death of Bennie D. Smith. The brothers entered guilty pleas Oct. 8, the morning their jury trial was due to start, after extensive discussions with their attorneys and family members.

In the months that followed, the brothers apparently changed their minds; both filed motions to withdraw their pleas, citing ineffective assistance of counsel. Both men found new lawyers.

Antonio Shannon is now represented by Richard Hart, who replaced Marcella DePeters.

The state did not contest Antonio Shannon's motion to withdraw his plea.

Judge Emily Mueller said she was inclined to grant the request, but that she wanted to know why.

"There must be some good reason beyond that he changed his mind," she said.

Hart said the plea was entered under duress.

"When he entered into the plea, he was under an extreme amount of pressure by his attorney and family," Hart said. "He told me both parents were allowed to meet with him and there was division in the

family."

Hart said that if he had called DePeters to testify, she would have said that she pushed for the plea.

"She did push very hard," Hart said of DePeters. "She thought it was in his best interest. There was pressure from everyone. She was uncomfortable. People were talking to him and making decisions for him.

"It would have been our opinion that while no one held a gun to his head, he was pressured to an extreme degree to take this plea."

Hart said he had spoken with his client about the plea withdrawal, and said Shannon understood it meant there would be no agreement about any plea deals in the future. He said his client was also aware of a "jailhouse snitch" who is now on the state's witness list.

Mueller questioned Antonio Shannon about his confidence with this move.

"There's more to it, but for the most part (Hart's characterization was correct)," Shannon said. "We talked about the jailhouse snitch. I want to go ahead to trial. I want the truth to be told.

"I was asked if the criminal complaint was true. It's not true. It's a lot of lies from their witness. Whatever it is, I'd rather go ahead."

Mueller said she wanted to make sure Shannon really knew what he was doing. "I want to make sure you understand that in withdrawing your plea, it's giving you the opportunity for a trial, but also taking away any benefits (of the plea)," she said.

Deputy District Attorney Richard Chiapete said earlier deals would no longer apply. "The state feels pretty strongly about this case," he said. "We are revoking any offers made at this time."

To that, Shannon said: "That's OK."

When Mueller asked him about the "jailhouse snitch," and whether he had enough time to consider the implications of that witness, Shannon said he was fine.

"He could read the papers to come up with his own story,' Shannon said. "I've been knowing about this for a while and it's not a problem. I want to go ahead and go forward."

The case is due back in court at 9 a.m. March 28 for a status conference. It's hoped that both Shannon brothers will appear.

Terry Shannon was initially expected to be in court Friday as well, but his new attorney, Robert Peterson, was not available. His case is scheduled to come before Judge Mueller on Monday.