A group of Los Angeles thugs who are accused of killing a woman outside an upscale Newport Beach mall targeted the prominent couple after seeing them with expensive items.
Doug McKay, a New Zealand business executive, was wearing an expensive watch and his wife, Patricia ‘Trish’ McKay was carrying bags of designer merchandise from their shopping trip as they exited the mall on July 2, prosecutors say, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Those items apparently caught the attention of Leroy McCrary, 26, and Malachi Darnell, 18, both of LA, as well as Jaden Cunningham, 18, of Lancaster, Calif., who allegedly accosted the couple as they were waiting for their ride to show up outside of the Barnes & Noble store.
They pulled up beside the couple and two masked men – later identified as Darnell and Cunningham – jumped out.
One of the suspects allegedly put a gun to the head of Mr. McKay, 69, demanding the watch he was wearing and forcing him to the ground.
Another dragged his wife, 68, into the street in front of the Camry while trying to wrest her shopping bags from her.
Doug reportedly jumped in front of the vehicle to protect his wife, but McCrary – with Darnell in the back of the car – accelerated and forced the husband out of the way.
He then allegedly ran over McKay, trapping her under the vehicle and dragging her 65 feet until she was dead.
Doug – a former chair of the Bank of New Zealand- was not injured in the incident.
Meanwhile, Cunningham was still running toward the moving escape vehicle, trying to jump in while a Good Samaritan was chasing him, trying to stop him.
But, according to cops, the pursuer gave up the chase when Darnell fired three shots toward him from the Toyota, allowing Cunningham to get away with his two accomplices. Nobody was hit by gunfire.
The men then fled north toward Los Angeles with the Toyota reaching speeds of up to 110mph.
As it sped through Los Angeles County, Cunningham bolted out of the car and was arrested, according to police.
McCrary and Darnell were later arrested in a residential community in South Gate.
All three suspects are now facing murder charges with felony enhancements that make them eligible for the death penalty, as well as second-degree robbery.
In addition, Darnell is charged with attempted murder and discharging a firearm after allegedly firing at the Good Samaritan.
And McCrary – who cops say acted as the driver – was also charged with evading police while driving recklessly.
They are all due back in court on Wednesday.
In the meantime, Los Angeles County Sheriff George Gascon is facing a growing storm of anger for his decision to allow McCrary to be free on probation instead of behind bars for a string of earlier LA convictions – including one last year for a similar robbery.
Prosecutors say that before last week’s robbery and killing, McCrary had prior convictions for residential burglary in 2018, criminal threats in 2020, and robbery in 2023.
He pleaded no contest last year to the robbery charge plus another of being a drug addict in possession of a firearm. Yet he was only sentenced to two years probation and a three-year prison sentence was suspended, leaving him free on the streets.
‘Our shopping centers and malls have become hunting grounds for criminals who are stalking innocent shoppers to rob them blind because our Governor and our Legislature refuse to hold anyone accountable for their actions,’ blasted Republican Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer when he announced the charges against the three men.
He said that McKay’s murder was a crime ‘that should have never happened,’ adding, ‘Lawlessness and violence will not be tolerated in our society.’
Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill also reacted with anger to the horrendous slaying of McKay, saying that McCrary ‘shouldn’t have been in free society’ because of his past crimes.
‘Frankly, to hell with these guys… These are thugs. Every community is now dealing with this. We have to do better as a society. We cannot tolerate this.’
Asked to explain why McCrary didn’t get jail time for his previous crimes, Gascon said in a statement that ‘the case against him had significant problems with proof’ so ‘the management team at the court authorized a plea offer that allowed him to be placed on probation,’ plus a prison sentence that was suspended.