Okla. cop pleads not guilty to killing daughter's boyfriend

TULSA, Okla. - An Oklahoma police officer has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the off-duty shooting death of his daughter's boyfriend.

The Tulsa court entered the plea Tuesday at 54-year-old Shannon Kepler's arraignment and set a preliminary hearing for Oct. 22. The suspect's wife and fellow officer, Gina Kepler, was in court to support him, reports CBS affiliate KOTV.

Kepler, a 24-year veteran of the Tulsa police force, was charged Monday in the Aug. 5 death of 19-year-old Jeremey Lake. According to KOTV, Lake and the Keplers' 18-year-old daughter Lisa were walking in front of the victim's home on the night in question. Lisa said her parents pulled up in an SUV and that her father shot Lake dead at close range. Police said the SUV was found at a Motel 6 three days later and towed as evidence.

The suspect is also charged with one count of shooting with intent to kill because prosecutors say he shot at his daughter during the alleged confrontation in which Lake was killed. Kepler's attorney, Richard O'Carroll, said his client hasn't done anything wrong.

"There is not one credible eyewitness at the scene," O'Carroll said, according to the station. "This is all about politics, and it's ugly."

Gina Kepler has not been charged because prosecutors said there wasn't evidence "at this time" to support a charge. She had been arrested on a complaint of being an accessory after the fact of murder.