Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Former TV chef Juan-Carlos Cruz entered a plea of not guilty Monday in his initial appearance on a murder-for-hire charge in Los Angeles. The former host of the Food Network's "Calorie Commando" was charged Monday with attempted murder and solicitation of murder for allegedly trying to hire homeless men to kill his wife, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. He remained behind bars pending a $2 million bond payment. A preliminary hearing was set for June 23. The criminal complaint filed Monday accused Cruz, 48, of trying to hire David Carrington and David Walters -- homeless men who go by the street names Little Dave and Big Dave -- to murder Jennifer Campbell, Cruz's wife. It was not immediately clear who was Little Dave and who was Big Dave.
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Former host of Food Network's "Calorie Commando" pleads not guilty
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Juan-Carlos Cruz is accused of trying to hire homeless men to kill his wife
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Police say a homeless man came to them with information about Cruz
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Cruz remains behind bars pending a $2 million bond payment
@placeholder and Little Dave got a place to stay while the investigation was under way.