UPDATE: A judge on Thursday refused to reduce Woodward's bail, and he remained in the downtown LA Men's Central Jail, pending a next court hearing date of Nov. 29.
The co-owner of a group of high-end restaurants has been charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors with attempted murder for allegedly trying to induce his girlfriend's miscarriage.
Joshua Woodward, 40, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday morning to four counts of attempted, willful and premeditated murder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
He's suspected of trying four times within a six-week period in 2009 to induce a miscarriage in his then-girlfriend by using misoprostol, a drug that can induce labor and end early-stage pregnancies, the DA's office said.
The restaurateur was a co-owner of the Table 8 restaurants in LA and Miami, the DA's office said.
Woodward's bail was set at $4 million. His record could not be found on the sheriff's department inmate locater website, indicating he may have already bailed out of jail.
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Woodward was originally arrested in 2009, when the Los Angeles Police Department submitted the case to the DA's Office for prosecution. It was sent back for further investigation, according to Deputy DA Habib Balian.
"In the interim, there's been further investigation and analysis, and we obviously now decided what we deem appropriate charges," Balian said.
Balian said Woodward, a Florida resident, was arrested Wednesday in that state when he gave himself up after a warrant was issued in LA.
The Los Angeles Times reported that "new evidence" had emerged in the case, but Balian said he would not comment on that.
Woodward's attorney told The Times that there's not enough evidence to make a case against his client.
