The man accused of beating a volunteer to death at the Sparks Marina Veterans Memorial Plaza has pleaded not guilty.
Michael Paulsen, 34, appeared before a judge on Wednesday afternoon for the first time since the attack. A judge ordered he be held without bail as he awaits further court proceedings.
Investigators say 65-year-old Michael Hess, a longtime Sparks resident and volunteer who helped maintain the Veterans Memorial, was cleaning up the plaza on November 3 when Paulsen — who had been sitting nearby — confronted him and suddenly attacked without provocation…