Police were called to a nursing home in Seal Beach after a gunshot was reported. Police arrested Laird without incident.
Laird appeared in Orange County Superior Court Tuesday and entered the not-guilty plea. He is charged with murder and a sentencing enhancement for using a gun to cause death.
The judge will allow Laird to be held at a locked-down, full-time care facility. That venue had not yet been determined Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.