Updated

A 21-year-old man accused of throwing his ex-girlfriend's infant out a car on a Tampa highway has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges.

Richard Anthony McTear Jr. appeared in court Wednesday morning.

Prosecutors now have 45 days to decide if they will seek the death penalty.

Prosecutors say McTear threw 4-month-old Emanuel Wesley Murray during an argument with his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend earlier this month.

The child was found on the roadside by a passing motorist.

McTear is not the child's father.