FORSYTH -- Christopher Keith Calmer, who could face the death penalty if convicted of shooting and killing a Monroe County sheriff's deputy last year, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday.
The plea came as no surprise and is one of the first steps in a capital case that will likely stretch on for months.
Calmer, 47, is accused of fatally shooting Deputy Michael Norris on Sept. 13, 2014, after authorities were sent to a disturbance at Calmer's parents' house near Bolingbroke.
Officials have said that Calmer and lawmen exchanged gunfire in a confrontation that left another sheriff's deputy, Jeff Wilson, wounded. Calmer, believed to have been suicidal, was living with his mother and father at their Haley Lane home not far from Interstate 75 and Pate Road.
At Monday's hearing in Monroe County Superior Court, Calmer's attorneys and prosecutors discussed dates for future hearings in the case.
Towaliga Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Thomas H. Wilson set a 60-day deadline for pretrial motions. A trial date has not been set.
District Attorney Richard Milam said after the hearing that he hopes the case will go to trial sometime in the latter part of 2016.
"That's my goal," Milam said. "But, whatever, these things do move slowly, but I guarantee that this case will be tried."
The judge noted that if Calmer's defense, considering the high-profile nature of the case, seeks a change of venue, a hearing on that matter could be scheduled for sometime in the coming months if not weeks.
Where potential jurors may be brought in from or, if necessary, where the trial might be moved to would be decided then.
"The defense has raised the issue that almost everyone in this county knows about this case," Milam told reporters Monday, "and people have strong feelings. The Norris family is well-thought-of, that sort of thing. ... I would anticipate that venue for the selection of the jury will be changed, but that'll be something the judge will decide."
A dozen or so people close to deputies Norris and Wilson were in the courtroom for Monday's proceeding. Calmer, flanked by his two lawyers, said little and spoke only when spoken to by the judge.
There was no talk regarding the facts of the case.
Authorities have said Calmer shot Norris, 24, in the head and also fired shots that struck Wilson in the chest, leg and buttocks.
Grand jurors indicted Calmer in May on charges that included malice murder, two counts of felony murder, attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer.
Calmer has been jailed at an undisclosed lockup since his arrest the night of the shootings.
Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Joe Kovac Jr., call 744-4397.