Judge orders Kentucky man accused in mass shooting plot held on $750,000 bond

SPRINGFIELD, Ky. (WDRB) -- The man accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Kentucky business last week appeared in court Monday.

Matthew Smith smiled as he was escorted into a Washington County courtroom for his arraignment on charges including attempted murder, resisting arrest, criminal trespassing and wanton endangerment of a police officer.

A judge set his bond at $750,000 full cash.

Smith's attorney, Jude Hagan, said he could not comment on his client's mental state or what he was planning at the time of the arrest.

"I would simply state that we realize that he's facing some very serious charges," Hagan said. "But I would just reiterate what the law states and that is that he's presumed innocent. And we'll just wait and see how the evidence unfolds."

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The 37-year-old was disarmed and arrested Nov. 19 in the parking lot LB Manufacturing in Springfield, Kentucky. Police say he had several firearms in his truck, including a modified fully-automatic AR-15 rifle.

Springfield Police Officer Joe Templeman said he was responding to a complaint at the business about a suspicious truck on the property. When he confronted Smith and told him to leave, Templeman said Smith refused to give his name and demanded his badge number.

The confrontation escalated, and Templeman said Smith pointed a Glock handgun at his chest. Police did manage to get Smith into custody and found two more guns on him and more in the truck.

"I believe a potential tragedy was averted," Springfield Police Chief Jim Smith said. "This was within a few minutes of being a potential disaster, a tragedy."

During the police interview, Matthew Smith reportedly told officers he was at the business searching for a woman he thought was being trafficked and "brought what he needed to get the job done."

At the arraignment, the judge ordered Matthew Smith not to have contact with that woman or anyone at the business.

"My two officers and the two people that intervened on scene and made the call for help, I still consider them heroes," Jim Smith said.

Jim Smith said federal charges could be coming as the ATF is now investigating whether weapons were potentially altered. He added that investigators are running tests on the weapons in a lab.

"We believe it was altered internally that controls the triggering mechanism to allow one trigger pull for continuous fire," Jim Smith said.

In court Monday, Matthew Smith's attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. He said he could not discuss any potential mental health concerns at the time. But he did comment on the weapons.

"Many of those weapons were possessed legally," Hagan said. "But we'll leave the rest to be unfolded in court."

Police said Matthew Smith did not work at LB Manufacturing, but he admitted to staking out the business and knew where the entrances and exits were in the building.

Detectives will continue to do interviews as part of the investigation, and Jim Smith said they hope to learn more about what the suspect's motivation might have been.

Matthew Smith will have a preliminary hearing next Monday. It is expected police officers could testify at that time.