OAKLAND, Calif. -- The main suspect in a robbery and shooting incident last month that seriously injured 10-year-old Christopher Rodriguez while he was taking a piano lesson pleaded not guilty Friday to the seven felony counts.

Jared Adams, a 24-year-old Oakland man who could spend the rest of his life in prison if he's convicted for the Jan. 10 incident, will return to Alameda County Superior Court on March 20 for a pretrial hearing.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said after his brief hearing that she hopes that the trial of Adams and co-defendant Maeve Clifford, his 19-year-old girlfriend, will be completed before Rodriguez returns to school this fall.

Clifford pleaded not guilty to armed robbery charges last week and also was scheduled to return to court March 20.

Adams is charged with willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder, armed robbery, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, evading a police officer, driving a stolen car and being an ex-felon in possession of a gun.

According to Oakland police spokesman Roland Holmgren, the bullet that injured Rodriguez was from one of several shots fired during a robbery attempt at a Chevron gas station at 4400 Piedmont Ave. at Pleasant Valley Road about 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 and traveled across the street and into the Harmony Road Music School, where Christopher was taking a lesson.

The bullet entered Christopher's abdomen and ripped through his spleen, kidney and spine before lodging in his spine. He is paralyzed from the waist down and doctors say it's unlikely that he'll ever walk again.

Two other bullets struck his mother's sport utility vehicle as she waiting for him outside the school, narrowly missing her as she talked to her husband on the phone.

Several police officers were completing a traffic accident investigation when they heard the gunshots from the robbery and citizens directed them to the suspects' vehicle, a stolen Ford Mustang that was speeding away from the scene, according to Holmgren.

The officers chased the Mustang as it sped west on Pleasant Valley Road, continuing to the intersection of 51st Street and Telegraph Avenue, where it struck another vehicle and a parked car, Holmgren said.

The driver, Adams, was detained by officers as he attempted to flee on foot.

Witnesses identified Adams as the robber and the shooter and officers arrested him for multiple felony charges, according to Holmgren. He said Adams has a prior criminal record, including a gun conviction.

Officers recovered a loaded firearm in the vehicle, Holmgren said.

Clifford was identified as the passenger in the vehicle and she also was arrested, he said.

Adams and Clifford were initially charged Jan. 10 but they were indicted on similar charges by an Alameda County grand jury two weeks ago in a bid by prosecutors to avoid a preliminary hearing and expedite their case.