The man accused in the beating death of a longtime Sacramento bail bondsman pleaded not guilty to murder during his arraignment Wednesday.

Jacob Levi Mandell, 39, had no reaction as Court Commissioner Alicia Hartley read off the murder charge and an audience member in the packed gallery let out a loud sniffle.

Officers were alerted just after 4 a.m. Monday to a fight that broke out in the 500 block of I Street, in front of Greg Padilla Bail Bonds. Kevin Brace, 56, died at the scene after Sacramento Fire Department personnel rendered medical aid.

Topo Padilla, the co-owner of Greg Padilla Bail Bonds with his father, said outside of court that Brace was working the graveyard shift when Mandell approached the office and asked to speak on the phone.

Mandell, who was not considered homeless but was ambling through downtown streets before the incident, dragged Brace onto the street and beat him to death, Topo Padilla said.

“He made the fatal mistake of going too far to help somebody,” Padilla said of Brace, while calling him a “gentle giant.”

Brace worked under Sacramento’s most illustrious bail bondsmen, such as Ace Bail Bonds and Leonard Padilla.

Mandell is scheduled to appear June 12 for his next court appearance. He remains held without bail in the Sacramento County Main Jail, not far from the fatal attack.