SAN DIEGO -- A man accused of stealing a flatbed truck and using it to run down and kill a pursuing San Diego police motorcycle officer pleaded not guilty to charges that could lead to the death penalty.

Kevin Gerard Williams, (pictured, left), 37, is charged with murder, auto theft, evading police with reckless driving, evading police resulting in death, two counts of hit-and-run and special circumstance allegations of lying in wait, killing Officer Terry Bennett while he was doing his job and killing the officer to avoid a lawful arrest. A decision will be made later on whether to pursue the death penalty should Williams be convicted.

A number of motorcycle officers from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement personnel attended the arraignment.

Williams has a long criminal history and has twice before fled from officers in pursuit, prosecutor David Hendren told Superior Court Judge David Szumowski.

Hendren said Bennett, (pictured, right), started chasing Williams on Thursday in Encanto. The fleeing GMC flatbed truck was filled with tools and a generator that the defendant had allegedly stolen earlier, the prosecutor said.

Williams made a hard U-turn and used the truck as a "battering ram to pulverize the defenseless officer (into a fence)," the prosecutor stated in court.

The suspect ran over Bennett's motorcycle, then fled -- leaving the officer to die, Hendren said.

Twelve blocks away, Williams ditched the truck after one tire went flat. When a pedestrian heard sirens and asked him if he was running from the police, the defendant responded, "Yeah," Hendren told the judge.

Williams, diagnosed in 1979 as being psychotic and mentally retarded, was arrested a short time later, authorities said.

Szumowski, citing the defendant's prior criminal record and risk of flight, ordered him held without bail pending a status hearing Thursday.

Williams has nine prior misdemeanor convictions, six felony convictions, and has been to prison three times, Hendren said.

A memorial service for Bennett, a 13-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the College Avenue Baptist Church. The service is open to the public.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to a memorial fund for the Bennett family should contact the San Diego Police Officer's Association at (858) 573-1199.