Three men accused of killing an elderly tourist during a robbery outside an upscale shopping mall in Newport Beach, California, defied a judge on Monday, refusing to leave their cells and go to court to face murder and other charges.
Leroy McCrary, 26, and Malachi Darnell, 18, both of Los Angeles, and Jaden Cunningham, 18, of Lancaster, California, were scheduled to appear in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana for arraignment and to enter pleas of guilty or not guilty.
But none of them showed up, defying Judge Andre Manssourian, who ordered them to appear after they pulled the same stunt for a hearing scheduled last Friday, refusing to move from the jail where they are being held, just 200 yards from the courtroom.
The three, all shirtless, made brief video appearances in court Monday after Orange County Sheriff’s deputies managed to bring iPads into their cells.
Neither of them spoke and Judge Manssourian scheduled another arraignment and plea hearing for Wednesday, ordering the men, again, to appear.
Leroy McCrary, 26, appears in court from his jail cell for the murder and robbery of Patricia McKay at Orange County Superior Court on July 8, 2024 in Santa Ana, California.
Jaden Cunningham, pictured left, and Malachi Darnell, right, also refused to leave the jail to appear in court on Monday, appearing only virtually thanks to an iPad they brought into their cells.
The judge seemed puzzled that the three were not brought to court on Monday, saying he heard “something about a 24-hour psychiatric hold” and asked officers to give him a report “in writing as to why they are not in court at this time.”
“I need to know if it’s a refusal or if it’s a psychiatric hospitalization,” he said.
The men are accused of murdering New Zealand tourist Patricia McKay, 68, by running her over with a car and dragging her 20 metres after trying to rob her and her husband Douglas outside a Barnes and Noble store at the Fashion Island shopping centre.
The three, who could face the death penalty if convicted, are also charged with attempted second-degree robbery.
Additionally, Darnell is charged with attempted murder and discharging a firearm after allegedly firing a gun at a good Samaritan who was trying to help the McKays during the July 2 incident.
New Zealander Patricia “Trish” McKay (left) was shot dead in front of her husband, prominent banker Doug McKay (right), at a shopping mall in Newport Beach, California. They were both on holiday.
Judge Andre Manssourian speaks during a court hearing for Jaden Cunningham, Malachi Darnell and Leroy McCrary. He was puzzled that none of them showed up, adding that he had heard it could have been due to “a 24-hour psychiatric hold.”
And McCrary, who police say led them on a high-speed chase of more than 30 miles as he fled the scene of the botched robbery, was also charged with evading police while driving recklessly.
Police say Darnell and Cunningham, both wearing masks, jumped out of a white Toyota Camry driven by McCrary and accosted the McKays as they walked outside the Barnes & Noble store.
One of the suspects allegedly put a gun to the head of Mr McKay, 69, demanding his watch and forcing him to the ground.
When they couldn’t get the watch, police say, the robbers turned on McKay, who was holding several shopping bags.
As McKay struggled to hold on to the bags, Cunningham allegedly dragged her into the street in front of the white Toyota getaway car with McCrary at the wheel.
Prosecutors say Douglas McKay jumped in front of the vehicle to protect his wife, but McCrary, with Darnell back in the car, sped off and forced the husband out of the way, then ran over McKay, trapping her under the vehicle and dragging her to her death.
Police arrested McCrary, pictured, after he was forced to hide behind trash cans between houses after the overweight narcotics addict ran out of puffs while fleeing police following the fatal mall robbery.
Trish McKay and her husband were standing outside a Barnes & Noble bookstore in the Fashion Island mall when they were approached by two men. McCrary (above) and two teenagers were arrested after the men fled the scene.
Cunningham kept running toward the moving getaway vehicle, trying to jump out, and a good Samaritan was chasing him, trying to stop him.
But police say the pursuer gave up the chase when Darnell fired three shots from the Toyota and Cunningham managed to escape with his two accomplices. No one was hit by the gunfire.
The men fled north toward Los Angeles in the Toyota reaching speeds of up to 110 mph, police say, and they were eventually able to stop the car and arrest all three.
The victim’s husband, Douglas McKay, a prominent businessman and community leader in New Zealand’s capital Auckland, was not injured in the incident.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Sheriff George Gascon and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom are facing a growing storm of anger over why one of the defendants, McCrary, 26, was free on probation rather than behind bars for a series of prior convictions in Los Angeles, including one last year for a similar robbery.
Prosecutors say that before last week’s robbery and murder, McCrary had prior convictions for residential burglary in 2018, criminal threats in 2020 and robbery in 2023.
Leroy McCrary, pictured, has a criminal record that includes a chillingly similar assault in another upmarket beach community.
General view of the Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach, California, where the McKays were robbed. It is generally considered a safe place
The location where the three men were arrested after allegedly killing McKay. They were driving at speeds of up to 110 mph, according to police
Last year he pleaded no contest to robbery and drug possession charges. However, he was sentenced to only two years’ probation and a three-year prison sentence was suspended, leaving him free on the streets.
“Our malls and shopping centers have become hunting grounds for criminals who prey on innocent shoppers to rob them blind because our Governor and our Legislature refuse to hold anyone accountable for their actions,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, a Republican, said when he announced the charges against the three men.
He said McKay’s murder was a crime “that should never have happened” and added: “Anarchy and violence will not be tolerated in our society.”
Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill reacted angrily to McKay’s gruesome murder, saying McCrary “should not have been in free society” because of his past crimes.
“Frankly, to hell with these guys… They are bullies. Every community is dealing with this right now. We have to do better as a society. We cannot tolerate this.”
Asked to explain why McCrary did not go to prison for his earlier crimes, Gascon said in a statement that “the case against him had significant evidentiary issues,” so “court management authorized a plea offer that allowed him to be placed on probation” in addition to a suspended prison sentence.
DailyMail.com asked a spokesperson for Orange County Superior Court whether a judge there has the authority to order an inmate to be physically forced to appear in court for a scheduled appearance if he refuses to leave his cell, but we have not yet received a response.
(tags to translate)dailymail
