Jackson County SWAT team members surround a motor home April 20 found near Applegate Lake believed to belong to Michael Wayne Ray, 64. 

A Ruch-area man pleaded not guilty to murder Monday during his first appearance in court since leading authorities on a hunt throughout the Applegate area to find him.

Michael Wayne Ray, 64, stands accused of shooting and killing Jason Marc Kinney, 53, of Jacksonville, Thursday. 

Ray said he understood the charges against him when he appeared from the Jackson County Jail via video before Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Paul Moser, who entered a “not guilty” plea for Ray and stated the defendant would be held in jail without bail.

Moser noted that Ray had hired defense lawyer Garren Pedemonte for two domestic violence cases and asked whether it was Ray’s intention to hire this lawyer for the murder case. Ray responded he had not had a chance to speak to Pedemonte yet. Moser commented that he assumed Ray would hire Pedemonte for the murder case, unless Ray indicated he wanted a court-appointed attorney.

The hearing concluded once Moser scheduled a pre-trial conference for 4 p.m. May 1.

The arraignment marked the latest developments in the murder case against Ray, who was arrested Saturday in the house where Kinney was killed two days earlier. Jackson County Sheriff’s Office SWAT and K-9 Teams responded to the 14000 block of Upper Applegate Road, and after a brief standoff, Ray was taken into custody without incident at 4:15 p.m., police said in a press release.

The hunt for Ray began after police received a 911 call at 2:26 a.m. Thursday of a shooting at a residence in the 14000 block of Upper Applegate Road.

Later on Thursday, Jackson County sheriff’s deputies discovered a pickup truck with a camper top near Applegate Dam that they believed belongs to Ray. With the help of the county SWAT team and K-9s, authorities searched the vehicle, but did not find Ray.

Ray has a history of violence, and prior to the murder charge he was facing trial in June for assault and domestic violence-strangulation.

Ray was involved in an armed standoff with police last summer following a domestic violence complaint in the same area where Thursday’s shooting took place. On July 19, 2022, sheriff’s deputies responding to a complaint made contact with Ray, who slammed the door and barricaded himself inside the residence, according to the sheriff’s department.

The victim was able to safely exit the residence, and crisis negotiators convinced Ray to come out unarmed with his hands up.

A few months after the standoff, Ray pleaded not guilty to more charges of strangulation and fourth-degree assault, both constituting domestic violence.

On Sept. 10, 2022, deputies were dispatched to the Upper Applegate Road home and learned that Ray was not supposed to be there because the victim had a no-contact order against him, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Ray fled the home before deputies arrived, but the victim reported injuries Ray allegedly had caused, including a broken toe, a rug burn on an arm and an abrasion on her neck as a result of Ray putting her in a headlock.

The victim told police that Ray attacked her because she tried to turn the lights on in the home and he wanted them off.

Deputies later found Ray, with blood streaming down his cheek, at the McKee Bridge day-use area, where they arrested him. Ray initially denied being at the Upper Applegate Road property, but later said he went there to get his truck to live in because he was homeless, according to court records. Ray also said the victim attacked herself because she is mentally ill.