SAN JOSE -- San Jose's infamous "Chili Finger Lady" has pleaded not guilty to charges of another hoax to cover up a potential parole violation for her son, as prosecutors filed an additional charge that would make her eligible for more state prison time.

Anna Ayala, 47, and her son, Guadalupe "Junior" Reyes, 26, entered their pleas Friday. Ayala was arrested Feb. 21 on suspicion of being an accessory to a felony and filing a false police report. Reyes pleaded not guilty to charges of falsely reporting a crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Since their Feb. 22 arraignment, the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office has amended the charges to add a count accusing Ayala of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Deputy district attorney Bret Wasley said his office made the addition after "further review of the evidence," deciding Ayala helped get rid of her son's illegally owned handgun.

Both Ayala and Reyes face up to four years and eight months in prison if convicted. Because of the added charge against Ayala, she is eligible for incarceration in state prison. Before that, she would have been subject to the state realignment law that routes nonviolent offenders to county jails in an effort to relieve prison overcrowding.

Ayala first earned notoriety in 2005 when she planted a severed finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili and claimed to have discovered it, grabbing worldwide headlines and costing millions in business, according to the restaurant chain. She served four years in prison for the scheme.

In the latest case, police say that on Oct. 21, Reyes accidentally shot himself in the ankle at their Alviso home, and because a felony burglary conviction barred him from having a firearm, the two concocted a tale about him being attacked by two men. She gave such compelling detail, prosecutors say, that investigators identified and interrogated a potential suspect matching the description she gave.

Both Ayala and Reyes are being held in custody on $150,000 bail.
