AUBURN — A Lewiston man accused on fatally shooting a Lewiston woman in December pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a murder charge.

Eddie Massie Maine State Police photo

Eddie Massie, 40, appeared in Androscoggin County Superior Court by videoconference from Androscoggin County Jail.

Massie, who was indicted in January by an Androscoggin County grand jury on a charge of intentional or knowing murder, is being held without bail.

His attorney, Justin Leary, has reserved the option of seeking a bail hearing in the case.

A defendant charged in Maine with murder or another crime at one time punishable by death in Maine may seek a bail hearing if prosecutors ask a judge that the defendant be held without bail.

At that hearing, a judge will determine whether there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed the crime. If so, the defendant doesn’t have a right to bail, but a judge may still allow it unless prosecutors can show there’s a substantial risk that the defendant might not appear in court, the defendant will pose a danger to another person or to the community and the defendant will commit a new crime.

A murder conviction in Maine is punishable by 25 years to life in prison.

Witnesses told police that Massie had been arguing with Lacresha Howard, 25, that he had a gun and had been the last person seen with her before her death.

Police said they discovered Howard late at night on Dec. 11, 2022, in the hallway of 108 Pierce St. She was bleeding from the head and with no pulse after a dispatcher received a 911 call.

A medical examiner who conducted an autopsy observed a single gunshot wound at the back of Howard’s head.

Several witnesses who had been in the apartment building at the time of Howard’s death said they heard Massie, also known as “TT,” and Howard, identified by the witnesses as his girlfriend, arguing shortly before the sound of a gunshot and the discovery of Howard’s body in the hallway, police said.

Witnesses said Massie had become angry about the attention Howard had paid to another man shortly before her death.