Marine, brother plead not guilty to weapons-related charges
An active Marine out of Camp Pendleton pleaded not guilty Thursday to possessing an assault weapon that his brother allegedly used for a carjacking that ended with a police chase, authorities said.
Alexander Russell Smith, 21, is the Marine who was charged with one count of possession of an assault weapon.
His brother, 38-year-old Robert Charles Maalea, faces a number of additional charges, including carjacking, assault by a machine gun or assault weapon and evading police, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
A prosecutor said Maalea walked up to a woman in a vehicle on Dec. 30 holding an AR-15 assault rifle. He then walked away, “crossed the street and allegedly carjacked a vehicle while the owner was nearby.”
Maalea then allegedly took the stolen car to a parking garage, brandished his weapon again to another woman, and then led Long Beach police on a car chase.
He crashed, tried to run, and was taken into custody.
Bail was set at $1.2 million for Maalea and $35,000 for Smith. Both men are due back in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Jan. 9.
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