The ringleader of this robbery/ murder crew had previously received a
suspended sentence for stealing a Rolex at gunpoint. He was free as a bird last week when he ran over Patricia McKay.
(L.A. Times article is behind a paywall so I'm copying some text from another site)
The alleged leader of an armed robbery crew
charged with killing a New Zealand tourist last week outside Newport Beach’s Fashion Island mall had been placed on probation for stealing a Rolex at gunpoint in Santa Monica.
He avoided prison time in that case after Los Angeles County prosecutors agreed to a three-year suspended sentence, according to interviews and records reviewed by The Times.
Leroy Ernest McCrary, 26, now faces a special circumstances murder charge that could carry the death penalty after authorities allege he
ran over Patricia “Trish” McKay, 68, during a July 2 robbery attempt.
Orange County prosecutors say McCrary and two other men targeted McKay’s husband, former chair of the Bank of New Zealand Douglas McKay, for his high-end watch.
McCrary and the other defendants have not yet entered pleas, and their attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Fashion Island slaying is renewing interest in the 2022 Rolex theft.