A Nevada man faces an attempted first-degree murder charge after a violent break-in left a woman in a coma at the coastal California estate of a billionaire toy magnate, Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch announced May 23.
Savrnoch reported he had filed charges against Russell Maxwell Phay, 42, of Henderson, Nevada.
Phay is charged with attempted first-degree murder with premeditation and deliberation, residential burglary with a person present, kidnapping, assault with a force likely to produce great bodily injury, and resisting or delaying a peace officer.
The defendant also faces special allegations for personally inflicting great bodily injury resulting in a coma, according to the district attorney’s office. The allegations could add to the severity of a sentence if Phay is found guilty of the charges.
The offenses are considered serious and violent felonies, according to court documents.
The charges were related to a May 21 burglary in Montecito, an enclave filled with sprawling estates favored by California celebrities and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to the report of a home robbery in progress at about 4:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Fairway Road, according to a press release from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
When deputies arrived, they found a woman severely injured outside the residence, the sheriff reported. She was identified as L. Malek-Aslanian in a criminal complaint, which said she was left “comatose due to brain injury.”
Malek-Aslanian was taken to a hospital by ambulance, the report stated.
Deputies learned that a male suspect was still inside the home and called in reinforcements from the California Highway Patrol and Santa Barbara police.
A police helicopter also responded to the home to help officers on the ground.
Deputies tried to determine if there were any other hostages and surrounded the residence with armored rescue vehicles, according to the report.
Phay was arrested following a standoff in an upstairs bathroom. Authorities tried to talk the suspect out, but Phay allegedly climbed out the second-story window and jumped to the ground, where he was arrested, according to the sheriff’s department.
The estate belongs to Harold “Ty” Warner, an American billionaire and owner of Ty Inc., which makes Beanie Babies, according to Amber Front, a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
Warner also owns the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, the Sandpiper Golf Club in Santa Barbara, and San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito.
The district attorney’s office was unable to say whether Malek-Aslanian’s condition had improved.
“I can’t confirm the status of the victim at this time,” Front told The Epoch Times.
Phay is scheduled to appear in Santa Barbara Superior Court for a preliminary hearing on June 2 and June 3. His bail is set at $1 million.
In 2017, Phay was arrested on suspicion of assault and battery in Siskiyou County.














