Crime & Safety
Suspect Pleads Not Guilty to Tying Up, Robbing Residents
Michael Vincent Ginger is the main suspect in a Promenade Apartments robbery in which residents were tied up and pistol-whipped.
A man pled not guilty Thursday to tying up, pistol-whipping and robbing Mission Viejo residents of the Promenade Apartments earlier this week.
Michael Vincent Ginger, 23, has pled not guilty to 22 felonies, including first-degree robbery and assault with a firearm.
Police were called at 9 a.m. Tuesday by victims who say they were tied up, pistol-whipped and robbed of money, cell phones and tennis shoes, by three attackers, according to a city statement. The statement did not say how many victims were robbed.
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The victims were robbed at 1 a.m. Tuesday but death threats from their attackers caused them to wait to call police, according to the city.
Ginger was arrested at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Mission Viejo "while attempting to flee the area with his mother," according to the statement.
Find out what's happening in Mission Viejowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Two other suspects remain at large, according to police.
The District Attorney's office originally charged Ginger with 66 felonies, but 44 sentencing enhancements were denied by a judge Thursday.
According to court records, Ginger pled guilty to commercial burglary and petty theft in 2007. He pled guilty to theft with a prior conviction, a felony, in 2010.
The Promenade Apartments have a rating of 1.7 stars out of 70 reviews on apartmentratings.com.
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