A woman accused of helping a man flee California after he allegedly hit and killed two pedestrians in Santa Monica last month has been arrested and now faces felony charges.
Marshonda Lajune Whitaker, 42, has been charged with one felony count of accessory after the fact, and could face up to three years in prison.
Whitaker is accused of helping Alex Kirksey, 38, leave the state without arrest before he was ultimately located and taken into custody in Chicago earlier this week.
Kirksey has since been extradited back to Los Angeles County to face charges that include two felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of 61-year-olds Brad Lipshy and Maura Cohen.
Lipshy and Cohen were hit on the evening of Oct. 24 in the 1300 block of Wilshire Boulevard. Around 9:15 p.m., Santa Monica police responded to multiple 911 calls that reported an orange Dodge Charger plowed into four people on the sidewalk.
Lipshy and Cohen died at the scene, and two others were transported to a local hospital with major injuries but are expected to survive.
That Dodge Charger was allegedly being driven by Kirksey, who investigators say ditched the vehicle and fled the scene on foot. It was later revealed that the vehicle was a rental, potentially rented initially by Whitaker.
According to charges filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Whitaker was aware that Kirksey had allegedly been involved in the deadly crash but helped him to leave the state.
Whitaker was arrested in Santa Monica on Thursday and has pleaded not guilty to the charges during her first court appearance on Friday. She remains in custody on $25,000 bail.
Kirksey made his initial court appearance on Thursday and pleaded not guilty. He remains in custody on $1 million bail.
In addition to the charges for vehicular manslaughter, Kirksey also faces one count of felony hit-and-run resulting in death, one count of hit-and-run resulting in injury, and one count of reckless driving.
If convicted as charged, he could spend up to 26 years in prison.