Two California men charged with opening fire with an AK-47 at a strip club they had been kicked out of for refusing to wear masks were charged with attempted murder on Monday, authorities said.
Edgar Nava-Ayala, 34, and Daniel Juvenal Ocamponava, 22, both from Anaheim, pleaded not guilty to three attempted murder and other crimes during the Halloween nighttime shooting that injured three people, court records show.
They are facing maximum jail terms of life, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
A third man, Juan Acosta Soto, was also charged with multiple machine gun attacks. He is facing a maximum of 17 years in prison and pleaded not guilty, the data shows.
The prosecution said the men were escorted from the Sahara Theater in Anaheim, south of Los Angeles, on Oct. 31, after rejecting the demand to wear masks.
The group reportedly departed, then returned to the club and opened fire with an AK-47, prosecutors said. Nava-Ayala is said to have hit the club at least 15 times, injuring two employees and a customer, the release said.
The men, who were arrested on December 17, were each held on $ 5 million bail.
Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday evening.