FARMINGTON – Four men indicted Tuesday on a range of charges pleaded not guilty Friday in Franklin County Superior Court.

Bert P. Parent, also known as Nicholas Burgess, 38, of Farmington, pleaded not guilty to charges of two counts of theft by unauthorized taking and one count each of assault on an officer, forgery and refusing to submit to arrest.

Parent, who was arrested in late November, was living in the community under the name of Nicholas Burgess, Assistant District Attorney James Andrews said.

The Rev. Lewis Glidden had contacted police after he was notified by a bank that several money orders that Burgess gave him were forged, police said previously.

Andrews argued Friday to keep Parent’s bail at $30,000 cash while Parent’s attorney, Ron Hoffman, said that was extreme and asked for surety bail since his client had no criminal record.

Andrews said Parent failed to appear on a charge of felony assault against a child in 2002, and that case is still pending in Cumberland County.

When Deputy Sandy Burke tried to arrest Parent in Industry while he was doing work for Glidden, Andrews said, Parent picked up a gun and the two got into a fight as Burke tried to get the gun away.

The deputy was in a fight for his life; it was full-blown fisticuffs with a handgun in Parent’s hand, Andrews said.

Hoffman said Parent didn’t have the bail money and he would end up serving nine months, likely more than he’d be sentenced to, by the time the case reached trial.

Parent is a “huge flight risk,” Andrews said.

Hoffman disagreed. He said Parent is an artist and uses Nicholas Burgess as his pen name and sells his work on the Internet. The money orders were given to him as payments for his artwork, Hoffman said. His client was suicidal and grabbed the handgun and was going into the woods to “end it,” Hoffman said.

The judge set bail at $5,000 cash.

David A. Moody, 38, of Augusta pleaded not guilty to charges of robbery, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and two counts of violation of condition of release.

Moody is accused of robbing the Big Apple in Wilton in December using a gun.

Moody’s bail was set at $15,000 cash bail or $150,000 surety.

Richard L. MacDaid II, 23, of Pittsfield pleaded not guilty to charges of two counts of reckless conduct and one count each of eluding an officer, passing a roadblock, criminal speed and driving to endanger. He faces similar charges in Somerset County.

MacDaid is accused of not stopping for state police on Jan. 1 and passing a roadblock in Somerset County entering into Franklin County at a high rate of speed. A radar unit registered 100 mph at one point, and he swerved his vehicle at two cruisers, police wrote in an affidavit.

Spike mats stopped MacDaid’s vehicle in Farmington, and police subdued him with a Taser after he failed to obey orders. Bail was set at $2,500 cash bail or $10,000 surety.

Harold M. Dow, 42, of Strong pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of sexually explicit material.

He is accused of having a child pose naked for him and taking pictures between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31 in 2006.

Dow has been unable to make the $500 cash bail with conditions that include no contact with the victim since his arrest in November. That bail was continued Friday.