COLBERT COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The former Tuscumbia Police Officer charged with reckless murder has pleaded not guilty and is out on bond, according to court records.

34-year-old James “Jay” Steward is accused in the October 10, 2022 death of 60-year-old Terry Hinton in a pedestrian vs. vehicle incident, where Steward was said to be driving a marked Tuscumbia Police vehicle.

Police Chief Tony Logan said the department received a call about a pedestrian struck by a vehicle on Hawk Pride Mountain Road in Tuscumbia around 8:16 p.m. that October night.

Colbert County Deputy Coroner Matt Moore pronounced Hinton dead on the scene, while Steward, injured, was airlifted to an area hospital where he would have surgery for those injuries.

According to the Colbert County grand jury’s indictment, Steward was “under the influence of alcohol and/or under the combined influence of alcohol and a controlled substance and/or speeding and/or driving on the wrong side of the road” at the time of the incident.

Online court documents show Steward was arrested after the indictment was returned on March 10, 2023, and was released from custody three days later on a $300,000 property bond.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Attorney General’s Office are handling the investigation and prosecution of the case.

Steward was booked into the Colbert County Jail, but later transferred to the Cullman County Jail in order to keep him safe, explained Sheriff Eric Balentine, where he was initially held without bond.

A pretrial hearing has been set for May 30, with a jury trial scheduled for June 6 at the Colbert County Courthouse under Judge Kyle Brown.