A Soboba tribal member pleaded not guilty Monday to taking part in a home invasion robbery in San Jacinto in September.

Thomas Charles Durnin, 19, was returned to Riverside County last week after being arrested on marijuana possession charges in Arizona.

Durnin and David Neil Morreo, 34, are suspected of forcing their way at gunpoint into a home in the 300 block of Main Street in San Jacinto and threatening the people inside, according to San Jacinto police.

Two men went to the home Sept. 13 and ordered a woman to give up her valuables and her roommate's wallet, said San Jacinto police Detective Steve Fredericks.

The roommate arrived and confronted the two men, who threatened to kill the roommate, Fredericks said.

The robbers left in a pickup, and the roommate and another man chased the truck to the gate of the Soboba Indian Reservation, Fredericks said.

Soboba tribal leaders helped Riverside County sheriff's deputies search the reservation and the homes of Durnin and Morreo, who had been identified as suspects.

They were not found.

Morreo was arrested three days later after a 12-hour standoff with police.

Durnin was arrested Feb. 22 by Mesa., Ariz., police on suspicion of smoking marijuana and trespassing, said Mesa police Sgt. Ed Wessing.

Durnin was then extradited to California.

He is charged with four felony counts of robbery, burglary, criminal threats and witness intimidation.

He is being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, with bail set at $200,000.

Reach John Asbury at 951-763-3451 or jasbury@PE.com