A suspect arrested last month in a 1997 murder pleaded not guilty in court Monday.

Lonnie Lee Bowers Jr., 42, was arrested in the Washington, D.C. area last month on charges of first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and shoot, stab, cut or wound.

Police say Bowers fatally shot Carl Shawn Turner, 21, at a party in the 100 block of Halifax Street on Sept. 28, 1997.

Exactly 12 years later, a grand jury indicted Bowers after members of the Suffolk Police Department’s Cold Case Squad were able to develop new leads and identify Bowers as a suspect.

Bowers had been on the Suffolk Police Department most-wanted list ever since and also was featured by numerous media, including the America’s Most Wanted website.

U.S. Marshals arrested Bowers Dec. 1 based on a tip.