A violent home invasion that left one woman in a coma last week reportedly took place at the Montecito mansion of Beanie Babies billionaire Ty Warner.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an “unknown” problem at a residence on the 1000 block of Fairway Road in Montecito, Calif., at around 4:30 p.m. on May 21. The initial report indicated a possible vehicle theft or home invasion robbery in progress.
Deputies arrived to find an assault victim, later identified in a criminal complaint at “L. Malek-Aslanian,” with severe injuries outside the residence. She was transported to an area hospital, and was described in the later criminal complaint as being “comatose due to brain injury.”
The male suspect was barricaded inside the residence, but deputies were not sure whether any other occupants were inside the home.
Deputies were joined by additional area law enforcement agencies to establish a perimeter and reroute traffic away from the area. Air support also assisted with aerial observation. While deputies tried to determine whether the suspect had taken any hostages, the Sheriffs Office Special Enforcement Team and Crisis Negotiation Team responded with Bearcat armored rescue vehicles.
Deputies ultimately entered the residence and found that all other occupants had escaped. The suspect was barricaded in a bathroom, and crisis negotiators attempted to talk him out. He tried to flee through the second-story bathroom window, however, and was captured by deputies and a K9.
The suspect, identified as 43-year-old Russell Maxwell Phay from Nevada was arrested and charged with attempted murder, burglary, kidnapping, and assault. He is being held on $100,000 bail.
The Santa Barbara District Attorneys Office confirmed to KSBW that the owner of the residence identified in court documents as “T. Warner” is in fact 80-year-old billionaire Ty Warner, co-founder and CEO of Ty Inc., the maker of Beanie Babies. He was reportedly home at the time of the attack, but was unharmed. KSBW reported that the victim, a 60-year-old financial services expert, was previously employed at Warner’s hotels division.
