James Nathaniel Watts
James Nathaniel Watts

BENTON, Ill. (AP) — A man has pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to a deadly attack at a bank in Cairo.

Twenty-nine-year-old James Watts was arraigned Tuesday in Benton, a week after he was indicted on charges of attempted armed bank robbery resulting in death. The charges include special findings making the death penalty possible if he’s convicted, though prosecutors are weighing whether to seek that punishment.

Watts was arrested May 15, hours after Anita Jo Grace of Olive Branch and Nita Jo Smith of Wickliffe, Kentucky, were found stabbed at Cairo’s First National Bank. Both women died. A third worker survived.

Watts is accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm and remains jailed without bond.

Watts’ trial is tentatively set to begin Aug. 4.

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)