Man pleads not guilty in shooting death of tattoo artist

A 31-year-old man pleaded not guilty last week to gunning down famed tattoo artist and body piercer Michael “Trigz” Pebley during a fight in North Hollywood in October.

Robert Falcon, a Latino from Sylmar, faces one count of murder for allegedly shooting Pebley to death, said Greg Risling, Los Angeles County district attorney's office spokesman.

Falcon was taken into custody Oct. 28 after Los Angeles police detectives received arrest and search warrants.

Police say Falcon was inside Tattoo & Body Piercing in the 6300 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard about 5:50 p.m. Oct. 9 when Pebley entered.

The two men got into an argument, which quickly escalated into a brawl, police said.

After the fight spilled out of the tattoo shop and onto the sidewalk, police said Falcon produced a handgun and shot Pebley.

Falcon ran off and Pebley was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pebley, a father of five, was born and raised in Los Angeles, according to his Model Mayhem profile, where he described himself as a model, photographer and artist who owned his own clothing line. He had worked with famous rap musicians, including Mobb Deep, Lil' Jon and Wiz Khalifa.

-- Joseph Serna and Veronica Rocha