XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, oc.general, sac.politics   
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   From: enough.of.the@apes.usa   
      
   Three men charged with the murder of a 68-year-old New Zealand woman   
   dragged to her death during an attempted robbery at Newport Beach’s   
   Fashion Island mall appeared in a Santa Ana courtroom Wednesday and were   
   ordered held without bail.   
      
   Prosecutors charged Leroy Ernest Joseph McCrary, 26, of Los Angeles;   
   Malachi Eddward Darnell, 18, also of Los Angeles; and Jaden Cunningham,   
   18, of Lancaster with special circumstances murder. The trio could be   
   sentenced to death if they are convicted of killing Patricia "Trish" McKay   
   in the commission of a robbery, with a felony enhancement of causing the   
   death of a person over the age of 65. California has had a moratorium on   
   carrying out the death penalty since 2019 and has not executed anyone   
   since 2006.   
      
   The three men, who were dressed in orange jail shirts over white T-shirts,   
   appeared in a protective pen with a metal screen dividing them from court   
   officials and the public. Through their attorneys, they agreed to postpone   
   entering a plea to the charges until Aug. 1.   
      
   During the proceedings, the three looked out at relatives and friends in   
   the Santa Ana courtroom. Darnell blew a kiss to someone in the crowd.   
      
   Read more: L.A. robber stole Rolex, got no-prison deal from D.A. Now he's   
   accused of killing tourist at mall   
      
   McCrary, the alleged leader of the armed robbery crew who Orange County   
   prosecutors say was at the wheel of the Toyota Camry that dragged McKay 65   
   feet, has a long criminal history, according to court records.   
      
   He was convicted in a 2020 case of making criminal threats, a felony. Last   
   year, he pleaded no contest to being a narcotics addict in possession of a   
   firearm, and he was convicted in a separate robbery case of stealing a   
   Rolex from a man at gunpoint in Santa Monica.   
      
   He avoided prison time in the latter case after prosecutors agreed to   
   suspend a three-year sentence, which ran concurrent to his sentencing in   
   the gun possession case, according to interviews and records reviewed by   
   The Times.   
      
   In addition to the murder charge against him now, McCrary also faces   
   charges of felony attempted second-degree robbery and evading while   
   driving recklessly. Darnell faces charges of second-degree attempted   
   robbery, attempted murder and personal use of a firearm, as well as a   
   felony enhancement of personal discharge of a firearm. Cunningham is also   
   charged with attempted second-degree robbery in addition to murder.   
      
   Read more: 'Senseless death': Three men charged with killing New Zealand   
   tourist during Newport Beach robbery   
      
   Patricia McKay and husband Douglas McKay, a well-known Auckland   
   businessman, were waiting for a ride after shopping at Newport Beach’s   
   Fashion Island on July 2 when a white Toyota Camry pulled up outside the   
   mall next to the couple, and two men in masks jumped out. One of the men   
   put a gun to Douglas McKay's head and demanded his watch as they forced   
   him to the ground, according to prosecutors.   
      
   Cunningham is accused of tossing Trish McKay to the ground as she held   
   several shopping bags and then dragging her into the street in front of   
   the Camry while trying to snatch her shopping bags.   
      
   Her husband jumped in front of the vehicle in an effort to stop it from   
   running over his wife, but authorities say McCrary drove it forward,   
   pushing him out of the way and running over the woman, then dragging her   
   body 65 feet under the car.   
      
   As Cunningham ran after the getaway car, another man seeking to intervene   
   gave chase. Darnell, who by then was back inside the car, is accused of   
   firing three shots at the good Samaritan.   
      
   Witnesses called 911 and police pursued the Camry as it sped north into   
   Los Angeles County, reaching speeds of up to 110 mph. A television news   
   helicopter captured video of the car speeding on the left shoulder of the   
   105 Freeway and at one point grazing the concrete median.   
      
   Cunningham was arrested after he bailed out of the vehicle in the city of   
   Cypress. McCrary and Darnell were arrested later in South Gate.   
      
   “Our entire community extends its deepest sympathies to the loved ones of   
   Patricia McKay and to the entire country of New Zealand as we mourn her   
      
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