LA MESA : Kidnaping Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
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A Texas parolee wanted in Philadelphia on suspicion of killing his mother pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of holding an elderly couple and their niece hostage for several hours at their La Mesa house.
Ernest Woods Jr., 32, told one of his hostages last week that he had killed his 65-year-old mother, which led Philadelphia police to search her home and find the body, authorities said.
Woods is being held in lieu of $3-million bail until a preliminary hearing June 23.
He was arrested at the downtown Amtrak station after confronting Diane McFarley and forcing her to drive to the Yale Street home belonging to her aunt and uncle, police said.
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