Attorneys for the man accused of running a gambling operation at a pay lake and the office manager of the business said they fear for the safety of their clients because of their court-ordered GPS monitoring.

Megan E. Grant, representing Terry Ellis and Sky Lake Inc., said Ellis had been recently shot at and asked for his GPS device to be removed.

Jeremy Dodgion, representing Loretta Akers, also asked for her GPS monitor to be removed.

“I have serious safety concerns of her being tracked and her whereabouts known by anyone who is employed by this county,” Dodgion said.

Judge D. Scott Bowling denied the motions and set a trial date of Sept. 12. Both defendants are set to return to court for a pretrial and final offers on Aug. 24.

This spring, Ellis, 54, of 1830 County Road 52, Chesapeake, pleaded not guilty to two first-degree counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, 12 counts of third-degree money laundering, four counts of fifth-degree possession of criminal tools, three counts of misdemeanor gambling and three counts of misdemeanor operating a gambling house.

The business, Sky Lake Inc., was separately indicted on identical charges.

Akers, 56, of 1441 County Road 32, Chesapeake, was also arraigned and pleaded not guilty to two first-degree counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, 10 counts of third-degree money laundering, four misdemeanor counts of gambling and a fifth-degree count of possession of criminal tools.

The pay lake was raided by county and state law enforcement in July 2014 following an investigation into illegal gambling. During the raid, nearly two dozen gambling machines were confiscated, as well as more than $68,000 in cash that is alleged to be “contraband and/or property derived from or through the commission or facilitation” of the crimes. Bank records were also seized.