A Bismarck man charged with gross sexual imposition in the September rape of a Bismarck woman has pleaded not guilty.

Jose Gutierrez, 21, entered the not guilty plea on the Class Afelony to South Central District Judge Bruce Haskell Monday morning.

Gutierrez, also known as Thomas J. Eppler, is being held on $20,000 cash-only bond.

Shannon Little Dog, 27, is a co-defendant in the case. He entered a not guilty plea to South Central District Judge Gail Hagerty on Nov. 6 at the Burleigh County Courthouse.

Little Dog is being held in the Burleigh County Detention Center on $10,000 cash-only bond. He was slated to appear at a dispositional conference Monday afternoon, but the hearing will be rescheduled as his appointed attorney, Todd Schwarz, was unable to attend.

Little Dog and Gutierrez were charged with gross sexual imposition on Sept. 22.

Police received a 911 call at 12:46 a.m. on Sept. 21, and the caller reported that a 21-year-old Bismarck woman had been raped. The caller said the two suspects last had been seen running south on 14th Street.

One officer responded to the home where the alleged attack occurred on the 1300 block of East Divide Avenue, and another found the two men at the intersection of 15th Street and Hanaford Avenue.

The two men were arrested and placed in jail.

Two female friends of the 21-year-old woman said they had known the two suspects for a few days.

When the two friends came back from getting something to eat, they heard the 21-year-old woman saying "no," several times.

They tried unsuccessfully to get in the room, and several minutes later the woman ran out crying. The women called 911, at which time the men ran south down 14th Street.

The woman told police that Little Dog forced her to have sex, and Gutierrez attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com)