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Homeless Man Pleads Not Guilty To Killing Priest

A homeless ex-convict pleaded not guilty Thursday morning to charges he fatally shot a Catholic priest and beat another during a burglary.

The June 11 attacks took place at the Mother of Mercy Mission in the downtown Phoenix area. Gary Moran is charged with beating the Reverend Joseph Terra and wrestling his gun away, then using it to shoot the Reverend Kenneth Walker to death.

Moran was wheeled into court in a wheelchair for his arraignment. His only comments during the hearing consisted of stating his name and age. While authorities say Moran has acknowledged his involvement in the crime, they say he initially did not remember what happened.

He next appears in court in early September. Moran was sentenced to more than four years in prison in 2001 after pleading guilty to misconduct involving weapons.

Updated 7/18/2014 at 9:37 a.m.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The headline of this article has been modified to reflect the suspect pled not guilty.

Dennis Lambert was a morning host at KJZZ.