Three men accused of carrying out a brazen, mid-day robbery at Fashion Island in Newport Beach that ended with a 68-year-old New Zealand woman being run over and killed by a getaway driver will all face trial on special circumstances murder charges, an Orange County Superior Court Judge ruled on Thursday, Dec. 12. The ruling following two days of testimony by law enforcement during a preliminary hearing held in a Santa Ana courtroom clears the way for a jury trial for Leroy McCrary, Malachi Darnell and Jaden Cunningham, three alleged members of a robbery crew from Los Angeles County who are accused of killing Patricia McKay during the commission of a robbery .
A defense attorney representing McCrary — the driver — denied that he intended to run over McKay, while attorneys for Cunningham — who prosecutors allege dragged McKay into the roadway in the midst of the robbery — and Darnell — who is accused of firing gunshots at a good Samaritan who tried to intervene — argued that the two other men were not directly responsible for McKay’s death. Testimony from more than a half-dozen law enforcement officers — bolstered by several security videos from the shopping center — painted a chaotic scene for a robbery that lasted less than a minute and a half. McKay and her husband, Douglas, were standing on a sidewalk in front of a Barnes & Noble around 3:30 p.
m. on Tuesday, July 2 waiting for family members to pick them up when a white Toyota Camry with no license plates.
