INDIANAPOLIS -- A not-guilty plea was entered Tuesday on behalf of a man dubbed the "praying robber."

In television interviews, Gregory Smith, 23, admitted robbing a check cashing store at gunpoint on Indianapolis' east side on Oct. 19, and that he prayed with clerk Angela Montez as they engaged in a lengthy conversation about the direction of his life during that robbery.

Slideshow: Robber Hugs, Prays With Clerk Before Taking Cash

Smith appeared in a Marion County court on charges of robbery, criminal confinement, pointing a firearm and carrying a handgun without a license.

He has a criminal history and is not a sympathetic figure, as some felt they had been led to believe when the story gained national attention.

Smith was charged in two robberies this month, with the other one -- an Oct. 14 incident -- involving a payday loan business.

He appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" last week after a security video showing him praying with Montez during the Oct. 19 robbery was widely shown on television and the Internet.

Smith also talked to 6News' Jack Rinehart last week after his mother prompted him to turn himself in.

"She (Montez) just talked to me like a mother or grandmother would to her child, and she made me feel comfortable," Smith told 6News. "(But people) shouldn't feel sorry for me, no."

In an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" last week, Montez said she told Smith not to proceed with the robbery because he is young and has so much life ahead of him.

"He told me he had to do this, that times are really bad," Montez said. "He was going to be homeless. He had no choice."

Indianapolis police said Smith took $20 and a cell phone. Investigators, annoyed because they felt that Smith was being portrayed incorrectly, then released information about his alleged involvement in the Oct. 14 incident.

Smith had been fired from a job with retailer Meijer because he stole a woman's purse, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported Tuesday.

Defense attorney Jack Crawford said it's too early to negotiate a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Watch 6News and refresh this page for updates.