OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A trial has been ordered for a 32-year-old man accused of recklessly killing a man by hitting him in the neck with a pool cue at a bar in Johnson County, Kansas.

The Kansas City Star reports a judge on Thursday ordered the trial for Gregory B. David Cooper on charges of second-degree murder. He’s also charged with attempted aggravated battery for allegedly trying to hit another man with the cue.

Pleas of not guilty were entered on Cooper’s behalf.

Authorities allege Cooper killed 23-year-old Tyler Knudsen in December at the Boxcar Bar & Grill in Edgerton.

Cooper’s attorney argues his client was leaving the bar as another man was challenging him to fight when he felt someone “contact” his back. That’s when he swung the cue, striking Knudsen.