RESEDA : 2 Plead Not Guilty in Robbery Attempt

Two Pico Rivera men pleaded not guilty Monday to charges stemming from an attempted robbery at a Reseda lock shop that was aborted when the owner’s son opened fire, hitting one of the would-be thieves.

Miguel Marquez, 22, and Victor Luna, 21, allegedly entered the A&A; Lock and Safe Co. at 18512 Sherman Way Thursday morning and asked Dennis Smith to make a key for them.

When Smith, a Beverly Hills attorney, said the shop could not perform the work, Luna pulled out a .25-caliber handgun, according to police.

Luna handed the gun to Marquez, and Luna then took $73 from the cash register before pushing Smith’s 72-year-old mother to the ground, authorities said.

“He pushed Jean Smith to the ground, and takes the ring off her finger,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Cohen, who filed charges of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon against the pair.

When Dennis Smith saw that Luna had his mother’s $5,000 ring, he threw a trash can at the robbers, according to police reports.

“While they were distracted, he reached into the desk and pulled out a revolver,” Cohen said.

As the robbers made their way to the back door of the shop, Smith fired one shot at the men. Marquez was able to fire one round before his gun jammed, police said.

Just before the short gun battle erupted, Smith sent his mother to another store to summon police, who happened to be nearby, Cohen said.

Smith fired a second shot at the men, hitting Marquez in the shoulder, authorities said. Because the back door to the store was broken and because their gun had jammed, Smith was able to take control of the robbers, Cohen said.

Police arriving at the scene observed the armed Smith marching Marquez and Luna out of the lock shop while he was kicking their broken gun along the ground, Cohen said.

Both defendants are being held in lieu of $65,000 bail. They are scheduled to again appear in Municipal Court Aug. 25 for a preliminary hearing.