A mass church shooting, the killing of a tourist during an apparent robbery at an upscale mall and a deadly robbery spree across Southern California — those headline-grabbing criminal cases are among those scheduled to play out before Orange County juries in 2026.
After a year when O.C. court cases included a wrongful-death trial against the Angels and the proceedings for a sitting Superior Court judge who shot and killed his wife, 2026 is shaping up to be another busy stretch for local courtrooms.
Those accused in the following cases have yet to fully outline their defenses, with most of their attorneys in early court proceedings only hinting at their expected arguments. Also vague: When the trials, subject to common delays that could push the cases mentioned below into 2027 or beyond, will play out in a courtroom.
But here’s a look at five Orange County cases likely to go forward in 2026 and, if they do, will capture the public’s attention:
Laguna Woods church shooting
David Wenwei Chou is facing special-circumstances murder and attempted-murder charges for what prosecutors say was a hate-driven mass shooting at a Laguna Woods church in 2022 that left one dead and five wounded.
The shooting targeting a Taiwanese Presbyterian congregation, in a church on El Toro Road just outside the expansive retirement community of Laguna Woods Village, shocked the normally quiet neighborhood and drew national attention.
Chou, 72, is facing trial – and potentially the death penalty – in both state and federal court. He has signaled a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity defense. So far, the Orange County Superior Court case is moving faster, with a judge last year finding that the trial can proceed to a jury.
Chou, a Las Vegas resident, is accused of carrying out the shooting because of a longstanding grievance with the Taiwanese community. The man killed while rushing the shooter – John Cheng, an Aliso Viejo doctor – has been hailed as a hero whose actions saved other congregants’ lives.
Crime wave at convenience stores
Malik Patt is accused of carrying out a series of shootings that left three people dead in the midst of a wave of robberies at convenience stores and fast-food restaurants across Southern California.
During a police interview, Patt appeared to admit to robberies, killings and attempted killings at 7-Eleven, Subway and doughnut stores in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties on four separate mornings in July 2022. The increasingly violent robberies prompted a large-scale manhunt.
Patt, a 23-year-old Black man, implied in the recorded police interview that race may have played a factor in why he shot some people and not others.
He is accused of killing a homeless man outside a 7-Eleven in North Hills, a customer in a 7-Eleven parking lot in Santa Ana, and a clerk in a 7-Eleven in Brea.
He also, authorities say, shot and injured a customer at a Riverside 7-Eleven and a clerk and customer at a La Habra 7-Eleven.
Prosecutors have indicated they are pursuing the death penalty.
Tourist killed at Fashion Island
Leroy McCrary, Malachi Darnell, and Jaden Cunningham – alleged members of a robbery crew from Los Angeles – are accused of killing a tourist during a brazen, messy midday robbery at upscale Fashion Island in Newport Beach.
McCrary, 27, authorities say, drove the car that ran a 68-year-old New Zealand woman over, killing her. Cunningham, 19, is accused of dragging the woman into the roadway. And Darnell, 19, the authorities say, fired at least one gunshot at a good Samaritan who tried to intervene.
The target was not hit.
The defendants were trying to escape when the woman was run over and the shots were fired, prosecutors have said.
During previous court appearances, McCrary’s attorney has denied his client intended to run the woman over, while attorneys for the other two men argued their clients were not directly responsible for the death.
Drano put in husband’s drinks?
Dr. Yue “Emily” Yu, 47, a Mission Viejo dermatologist, is accused of intentionally putting Drano in her husband’s drinks at their Irvine home while the couple — who have a 10-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter — was in a contentious divorce and custody battle.
Yu’s husband said he noticed a strange taste in his tea beginning in April 2022 and, believing his wife was putting something in his drinks, installed a pair of video cameras. The resulting footage and allegations were outlined in civil court documents and then in criminal charges.
Yu’s attorneys allege that her husband set her up to gain the upper hand in family court by telling Yu to put the Dano into the cup in order to kill ants.
Of the defendants in these five cases, she is the only one not being held in custody.
OC Mexican Mafia members
Reputed leaders of the Orange County faction of the powerful, prison-based Mexican Mafia are awaiting trial following a wide-ranging racketeering indictment that accuses them of being behind murders, attempted murders and drug and gun crimes.
This case involves a series of trials.
The indictment was the centerpiece of a long-running law enforcement effort to take down the O.C. faction and its alleged leader, Johnny Martinez.
This case, unlike the other four that will take place in Orange County Superior Court, will be prosecuted nearby at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.
Federal prosecutors allege that Martinez was the victor of a violent internal power struggle that ensued when longtime OC gang chieftain Peter Ojeda died in federal prison, leaving a leadership vacuum within the OC faction of the Mexican Mafia.
Comprised of senior members of Latino street gangs, the Mexican Mafia exerts widespread control over gang activity across Southern California by “taxing” those who deal drugs in gang-controlled territories and trafficking narcotics in and out of prisons and jails.
Lower-level gang members – such as three so-called foot soldiers involved in a 2017 murder in Orange – were convicted as part of what authorities dubbed “Operation Night Owl.” But other defendants accused of holding higher positions within the local Mexican Mafia faction await trial.