Good Samaritan shot in deadly Fashion Island robbery wishes he had done more – Orange County Register

Police officers and emergency medical personnel are seen Tuesday on Fashion Island after a woman was killed during a botched robbery, police said. (Photo by OC HAWK)

Beau Bayless was sitting outside Sushi Roku in Fashion Island on Tuesday, July 5, smoking a vape pen, when he heard a commotion near the Barnes & Noble.

“I didn’t pay attention to it and I didn’t even bother to look that way until someone said, ‘Oh my God, that woman is getting robbed,’” Bayless, 43, of Fountain Valley, said in a telephone interview Saturday. “I saw her on the street fighting with two men over her purse, so I tried to go over there and help her.”

Bayless knew he had to step in. “It could be somebody’s grandmother, or somebody’s mother,” he said. “She needed help.”

But, he thought, “I wasn’t fast enough.”

When he arrived, three men attacked and knocked over Patricia McKay, a 68-year-old tourist from New Zealand, dragging her 60 feet under a car and killing her, authorities said. Moments later, Bayless was able to wrestle one of the suspects to the ground, but another shot him. The trio fled in a white Toyota Camry, but Newport Beach police arrested them hours later at Cypress and South Gate.

Bayless wishes he could have done more, but he hopes the McKay family will see justice served.

“Anything that can help this poor family,” Bayless said. “I feel so bad for all of them.”

Leroy Ernest Joseph McCrary, 26, Malachi Eddward Darnell, 18, and Jaden Cunningham, 18, have been charged with special circumstances murder with enhanced sentencing for causing the death of a person over 65, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday. They also face charges of attempted robbery and other crimes. The fact that the killings occurred during a robbery could make it a capital case.

“I saw the barrel”

McKay and her husband were outside the Barnes & Noble bookstore with their packages, waiting to be picked up, when the Camry pulled up and two masked men, identified by the district attorney’s office as Darnell and Cunningham, got out and fought with McKay’s 69-year-old husband, pointing a gun at his head, forcing him to the ground and demanding his watch, the district attorney’s office said.

When they failed, they then turned their attention to McKay, who was holding shopping bags. Cunningham grabbed the bags and threw McKay to the ground, then dragged her across the street in front of the Camry, prosecutors said.

Bayless happened to be at the mall visiting his former co-workers at the sushi bar when the chaos broke out.

He saw the driver of the Camry, identified by the prosecutor’s office as McCrary, hit McKay once, knocking her onto her back. McKay’s husband then walked to the driver’s side of the car, waved his hands and told the driver, “She’s down, don’t go, don’t go,” and that’s when the second suspect, identified as Darnell, got into the car.

McCrary then accelerated again, knocking McKay down, Bayless said.

“I thought they were leaving the third guy behind and that’s when I stepped in,” Bayless said. “They stopped the car so the third guy could get in, I hit him with a clothesline and we both went down.”

He said he had his hands on the third suspect’s shoulder and sweatshirt when a bullet went through both of their heads. The suspect “ran very quickly to the left” and Bayless saw one of the other suspects get out of the car and point a gun at him.

“I saw the cannon and realized he was shooting at me and I knew I had to let him go,” Bayless said.

He was not hit by the gunfire. McKay’s husband also escaped unharmed, authorities said.

As a last resort, Bayless attempted to throw a rock at the Camry, in order to cause damage that would help police identify the car.

But he missed his shot.

A tragic loss

Prosecutors said Cunningham was the one who tried to flee on foot, while Darnell was the shooter. Newport Beach police spokesman Sgt. Steve Oberon confirmed Bayless’s account of the shooting Saturday.

Bayless said he found McKay’s wallet, noticed New Zealand credit cards and “that’s when I knew they weren’t from here.” He said one of the Sushi Roku chefs tried to resuscitate McKay before police and paramedics arrived.

McKay’s husband was identified by the New Zealand Herald as Doug McKay, a prominent Auckland businessman and former chairman of the Bank of New Zealand and Eden Park Trust.

Although Bayless was unable to arrest the man identified as Cunningham, Newport Beach police caught and arrested all three suspects within hours. They were scheduled to appear in court Friday, but were not released from jail due to “medical holds” and their court appearances were rescheduled for Monday.

Prosecutors say McCrary has convictions in Los Angeles County for residential burglary, criminal threats and theft.

Bayless, who now works as a server at a Costa Mesa restaurant and trains employees preparing to open another, said he’s never seen anything like what he experienced at Fashion Island on Tuesday. “Nothing with guns, nothing like that. It’s a little bit off the beaten path.”

“This is a tragic loss that should not have happened,” he said. “My thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time. I feel so bad for them.”