Andrew Jermain Patterson, charged with killing a Madrona father as he was driving his van through a Central Area intersection in May, pleaded not guilty Monday to second-degree murder.

On May 24, Patterson, 20, had been aiming his gun at a man who had insulted him when the bullet struck Justin Ferrari, a 43-year-old software engineer who was driving with his parents and children, according to the charges. Patterson was arrested July 19 after police said they pieced together bus-surveillance videos, interviews, cellphone records and information from a confidential source.

Witnesses told police the suspected shooter had his hair in corn rows and wore a distinctive red jacket with a black design on it, court documents say.

According to court records, Patterson has an arrest record that includes juvenile charges for third-degree theft, residential burglary and criminal trespass. He has never been convicted of a felony as an adult in King County, although he was arrested in April 2011 for possession of a controlled substance. The charge was reduced to misdemeanor criminal solicitation, court records show.

Patterson was due to appear in Auburn Municipal Court on a domestic-violence charge on June 24.

King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Scott O'Toole said Patterson's next court hearing in the murder case is slated for Aug. 13. Patterson is being held at the King County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail.

If convicted as charged, Patterson faces a sentencing range of 15 to 23 years in prison, according to the prosecutor's office.

Ferrari is among 22 homicide victims in Seattle so far this year, two more than in all of 2011. All but two of the killings have been by gunfire.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this report.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @SeattleSullivan.