According to the Hollywood Police Department in Florida, the incident took place at Haims Motors -- a used car lot located about half an hour north of Miami.

Cops say an employee at the dealership told them a woman had approached him and complained that she had left a phone in a truck that the establishment had recently repossessed.

Police say when the employee went to grab the keys to help her get the device back ... Miller grabbed him, put him in a chokehold -- and insisted he fork over the keys.

HPD officers say the employee told them Miller then threw him to the ground, nabbed the keys and jacked the truck.

Cops say that while Miller fled the scene, he was unaware that there was a tracking device in the ride -- and a short time later, officers found him, arrested him, and booked him on charges of carjacking without a firearm or weapon and burglary with assault or battery.

Miller appeared in court on Wednesday ... and during the proceedings, prosecutors said they believed Miller had planned the attack.

"It would appear that Mr. Miller," one official said in the courtroom, "he knew what the plan was going to this business to get his car back."

Miller, however, pled not guilty to the charges ... though jail records show that as of Thursday morning, he's still behind bars in Broward County.