Santa Barbara Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 43-year-old military veteran with a history of mental health and law enforcement challenges for allegedly breaking into and barricading himself inside the Montecito home of Beanie Baby founder Ty Warner on Wednesday afternoon and beating a member of Warner’s household staff so badly she required hospitalization.
There’s no indication that Warner was in the home at the time of the incident nor that the suspect, 43-year-old Nevada resident Russell Maxwell Phay, even knew that it was Warner’s house that he was breaking into. According to initial reports, Phay broke into the house, screaming that it was his and ordering everyone inside to leave. Initially, law enforcement responded to the scene of the crime thinking it was a hostage situation.
Dispatched to the scene — the 1000 block of Fairway Road — were multiple officers from California Highway Patrol officers, Santa Barbara Police Department, and the county Sheriff’s Office. A BearCat was dispatched to the scene and air support was deployed. K-9 dogs were, too, and eventually they were the ones who nabbed the suspect after he sought to flee by jumping out a second-story bathroom window. In addition, the county’s co-response unit was deployed and sought to talk the suspect out of the bathroom, where he had barricaded himself.
Not much is known about Phay or how long he’s been in Santa Barbara and what his thinking was at the time. Based on prior media reports dating more than 10 years back, Phay has lived in Ogden, Utah; Nevada; San Francisco; and Eureka, California.
According to a 2014 article published by SFGATE about a veterans’ court program designed to get veterans with mental health challenges who are facing criminal charges into treatment, Phay joined the army, trained as an infantry combat soldier, and was slated to be deployed to Kuwait. His tour of duty expired, however, before he was deployed. Upon his release, he and his wife experienced serious domestic issues; when she left for Colorado with their child, he followed after them and threatened her. For this, he served time behind bars and then moved to San Francisco.
In the veterans’ court proceeding, Phay is quoted as saying, “I am fully trained for combat. I have been trained to eliminate you. I know this sounds crazy, but it is true.” Speaking of the veterans’ court, he stated, “They’ve recognized that I am salvageable. I need treatment and I’ve gotten treatment. I feel like people here understand the brotherhood.”
It remains unclear just how seriously Phay injured Warner’s employee. Phay was charged with burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, obstruction, and battery with serious bodily harm and is being held at the Main Jail on $100,000 bail.
