LOS ANGELES : Denny Case Defendant to Be Tried on Gun Charge

Antoine Miller, a former defendant in the Reginald O. Denny beating case, was ordered Monday to stand trial on a charge of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.

After a brief preliminary hearing, Los Angeles Municipal Judge Michael Pastor ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold Miller, 22, for trial on the allegation that he possessed a semiautomatic pistol on Aug. 26 and violated his parole.

The counts stemmed from an Aug. 21 incident in which he was accused of pulling a gun on a group of people in a car near the intersection of Florence and Normandie avenues, where Denny was nearly beaten to death on April 29, 1992, as the Los Angeles riots broke out.

Police said Miller ran to a house and got a gun after an argument, then went back to the car and fired at three of the occupants, then ran to the driver’s side and fired point-blank at the man behind the wheel--only to have the gun jam.

Police obtained a warrant to search Miller’s apartment and found the weapon under his bed, Officer Michael Real testified Monday.

Miller, who is being held without bail, is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court on Sept. 26.

He pleaded guilty to felony assault and misdemeanor counts of robbery and receiving stolen property and was sentenced to probation for his role in the riot incidents at Florence and Normandie.