Montecito, California — A 42-year-old Nevada man was detained on suspicion of attempted murder and kidnapping after a woman was viciously injured during a break-in last week at a Southern California mansion owned by Beanie Babies millionaire Ty Warner, according to officials and court documents.
The victim, identified in a criminal complaint as L. Malek-Aslanian, was in a coma after sustaining a brain injury during the May 21 attack at his house in coastal Montecito, northwest of Los Angeles.
According to the lawsuit acquired by the Los Angeles Times, Warner, the creator of the company that produced the stuffed toys that were popular in the 1990s, was at home at the time but was unharmed. His link to the victim was not immediately obvious.
Russell Maxwell Phay was captured during a standoff with deputies in which he locked himself in a bathroom before jumping from a second-floor window, according to a statement from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
The Henderson, Nevada citizen pled not guilty to various charges, including attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, and burglary. A lawyer for Phay could not be found, and the public defender’s office did not immediately respond to an email asking if one of its attorneys is representing him.
Prosecutors claimed Phay had multiple past convictions and had served time in prison or jail, but more information about his criminal history was not immediately available, according to the Times. He was being jailed on $100,000 bail.
Officials did not specify a possible motivation or whether the suspect knew the victim. The investigation is underway.
A message was sent Wednesday to the Santa Barbara County district attorney’s office, requesting an update on the victim’s condition.