Law enforcement officials Wednesday described a chaotic aftermath to a brazen, mid-day robbery earlier this year at the upscale Fashion Island shopping center in Newport Beach that left a 68-year-old New Zealand woman dead, during the first courtroom testimony related to the high-profile killing.
Over the course of a preliminary hearing in Orange County Superior Court meant to determine whether three alleged robbery crew members — Leroy McCrary, Malachi Darnell and Jaden Cunningham — will face a jury trial for special circumstances murder related to the death of Patricia McKay during the commission of a robbery, officers and detectives described the hectic aftermath of the killing.
“Suspicious person” reports of a white Toyota Camry with no license plates occupied by three males wearing hoodies being seen in a Fashion Island parking lot around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 2 quickly turned into reports of a possible robbery and then gunshots being fired.
Newport Beach Police Officer Daniel Soliz — who at the time had only a few months on the job — described pulling up with his training officer in front of a Barnes & Noble to see McKay’s body in the roadway.
“Did Ms. McKay at the time you saw her show any signs of life?” Senior Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney asked.
“No sir,” the officer responded.
McKay’s husband, Douglas, described standing on the sidewalk waiting to be picked up by family members when a white Camry pulled up, with two men exiting the car while a driver remained inside, the officer testified.
The two men — one of whom was armed — initially focused on the husband, he later told the officer, while Patricia McKay stood several feet away. The husband said the apparent robbers were focused on his Rolex watch, the officer testified.
“One of the individuals pointed the handgun at him and stated “I will shoot you!’” Soliz said.
The husband described fighting the men off, the officer testified, leading them to turn their attention on his wife. Patricia McKay ended up being knocked to the ground, the officer said, while the husband described punching the two attackers.
As the men retreated away from the McKays, the husband later told the officer that he stood over his wife and tried to get the attention of the driver who had remained in the vehicle.
“He raised his hands in an attempt to notify the driver that Patricia was on the ground in front of the Toyota Camry,” Soliz testified as to what the husband told him. “The vehicle accelerated over Patricia’s body and dragged her for approximately 30 yards.”
McCrary’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender David Hammond, asked Soliz if the husband told one of the robbers “Go ahead and shoot me.” The officer said he did not recall the husband telling him that.
In questioning Soliz and other law enforcement officials, defense attorneys for the three defendants repeatedly asked about the chaos of the robbery — which lasted little more than a minute — and the aftermath. At several points, defense attorneys asked if it appeared that the robbers’ plans had fallen apart.
“It seemed a bit unorganized?” Hammond asked one of the officers about the robbery, before later asking another officer if witnesses believed “things did not appear to be going as planned” for the robbers.
Newport Beach Police Detective Marie Gamble testified to talking to a Good Samaritan who knocked one of the fleeing robbers to the ground and tried to prevent him from getting into the escaping getaway vehicle. The Good Samaritan stopped when he heard a gunshot “zing by his head,” the detective testified, and saw that someone in the front passenger seat of the car was shooting at him.
Sgt. Steve Oberon testified that he was driving on Jamboree Road when he heard the reports of a fleeing Camry. Oberon parked his marked police car on the median of MacArthur Boulevard, where he spotted the Camry driving toward him. The sergeant testified that he immediately pulled out, did a u-turn and with his lights flashing began pursuing the Camry.
The driver of the Camry sped up, the sergeant testified, merged onto the 73 Toll Road and drove past heavy traffic in an emergency lane. A helicopter and other police units joined the pursuit, according to testimony, as it stretched onto both surface streets and freeways.
All three defendants were arrested after the police pursuit. Prosecutors allege that McCrary, 26, was the getaway driver who drove over McKay; Cunningham, 18, was the man who dragged McKay into the roadway and Darnell, 18, was the man who fired a gunshot at the Good Samaritan.
Testimony in the preliminary hearing will continue on Thursday morning in a Santa Ana courtroom. The hearing will end with Judge Gregory Jones deciding whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to a jury trial.