2 Men Plead Not Guilty in Jewelry Store Standoff
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TORRANCE — Two men who are accused of robbing a jewelry store and holding six people hostage pleaded not guilty Tuesday to six counts of robbery and six counts of false imprisonment of hostages.
Robert James Miller, 47, of the Los Angeles area, and Matthew Lou Ross, 48, of Michigan, allegedly robbed Morgan’s Jewelers in Rolling Hills Estates Saturday evening. When they saw sheriff’s deputies outside the store, they ran back inside and held six people hostage for 18 hours, authorities said.
No one was injured in the all-night siege, in which the hostages said they called their own lawyers to advise their captors, who were allegedly distraught about going back to prison.
If convicted, Miller, who has three prior convictions for robbery and armed robbery, could receive a minimum sentence of 25 years to life in prison under the three-strikes law. Ross has one prior conviction for robbing a bank in Oregon, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Marnie Lawrence.
Miller is being held on $2.3 million bail, and Ross is being held on $1.3 million bail. The case could go to trial by November, Lawrence said.
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