On his way back from an approved doctor’s appointment, one Butler County prison inmate decided to stop for dinner. But spending time with his family was not part of the medical furlough granted to the convicted robber.

Kenneth Miller, 31, of Winfield Township was released from the prison on July 13 for a doctor’s appointment. Although the furlough gave a window from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., inmates are required to go directly to the appointment and return immediately to the prison.

Miller didn’t do that, according to his attorney, Owen Seman.

Instead, Miller took the extra time to visit his family and see his two children, and that may be the reason he won’t be released from prison when he finishes his minimum sentence for a robbery three years ago.

In May, Miller was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months of jail time for trying to rob Colonial Pharmacy on Ekastown Road in Buffalo Township in October 2013.

During the robbery, Miller carried a black bag with what people believed was a bomb, court documents said. Later, officials determined the box was not capable of exploding. Police also said they found a .22-caliber magnum pistol on Miller, after leaving the pharmacy. Miller said the gun was locked up in his truck, a Chevrolet Silverado, and was never taken into the pharmacy.

Miller pleaded guilty in June 2014, but his sentencing was delayed almost a year so he could donate a kidney to his younger brother who suffered from renal failure.

While Assistant District Attorney Patricia J. McLean initially asked that Miller be mandated to serve the full 23 months of his sentence, that request was lifted in court Thursday morning. Instead, she requested Miller simply not be automatically released when his minimum sentence, 11½ months, is finished.

Judge William Shaffer ruled that Miller will still be eligible for parole, but he must first apply for it when his minimum sentence is almost complete.

“Miller can certainly apply for parole at any time,” Shaffer said, reserving Miller’s right to apply for parole as Seman requested.