LETCHER COUNTY, Ky. — A former Kentucky sheriff accused in the shooting death of a district judge pleaded not guilty Monday to the charge of murdering a public official.

Defense attorneys for Shawn “Mickey” Stines entered the plea at his arraignment hearing.

Stines was escorted into the Letcher County courtroom wearing jail clothing and handcuffed. He appeared to have said, “I love you all” in the direction of where his family was sitting.

His family sat a few feet away behind Stines as the judge denied him bail. The victim’s family was reportedly in the courtroom as well.

WCYB reported that defense also filed a notice to preserve all evidence and requested the court issue a discovery order. The state did not object to the motion, and the judge granted the request.

Judge Julia Adams ruled that Stines be held without bond, citing safety and community concerns, as well as the gravity of the charge, which is classified as a capital offense.

The former Letcher County sheriff was indicted by a grand jury last week for the September murder that shocked the nation.

According to the indictment, Stines shot and killed Letcher County District Court Judge Kevin Mullins.

Stines was seen in a security camera video shooting Mullins at point-black range inside the judge’s chambers on Sept. 19.

The video, with no audio, showed a man identified by police as Stines pulling out a gun and shooting the judge as he sat at his desk. The man walked around the desk, pointed the gun at the judge — who had fallen to the floor — and fired again.

The motive still remains unclear. A Kentucky State Police detective testified during a hearing in October that Stines tried calling his daughter on Mullins’ phone and his own phone just before the shooting. The detective also said on the day of the shooting Mullins and Stines met for lunch with several other people at a restaurant near the courthouse.

Stines could potentially face the death penalty for the murder charge.