The CEO and founder of Ty Inc., known for Beanie Babies, was the victim of an alleged burglary that occurred at his California mansion and left a woman in a coma.
A call regarding a possible vehicle theft or home invasion robbery came into deputies in Santa Barbara County around 4:30 p.m. on May 21, according to the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office. Upon arriving at the scene, the 1000 block of Fairway Road in Montecito, a woman who had sustained severe injuries from an assault was located outside the residence.
She was transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance.
“Deputies learned that a male suspect was still inside the residence, but it was unclear if all occupants had safely escaped,” Santa Barbara deputies said on the day of the incident. “Additional deputies, along with allied agencies including CHP and the Santa Barbara Police Department, established a perimeter around the residence…Santa Barbara County Air Support also responded to the area to assist with observations overhead.”
“While deputies attempted to determine if there were possible hostages, the Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Team and Crisis Negotiation Team responded with Bearcat armored rescue vehicles,” SBSD elaborated.
It was later determined that all occupants had escaped the home and that the suspect – identified by authorities as Russell Maxwell Phay – barricaded himself in an upstairs bathroom. Phay, a Nevada resident, attempted to flee by climbing out of a second-story window, but he was apprehended after jumping to the ground.
The 42-year-old was booked for one misdemeanor (obstruction) and several felonies, including burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, battery with serious bodily injury and kidnapping. It is believed that the victims and suspect were not known to each other.
A criminal complaint filed on May 23 identified the owner of the home as reclusive billionaire Ty Warner, the founder, CEO and sole owner of Ty Inc., a stuffed toy company known for the famous Beanie Babies. Warner, 80, was listed in the complaint as being home at the time of the incident, although police did not state that information.
With a net worth of $6 billion, Warner also owns a portfolio of luxury properties, including the Four Seasons in New York. In 2014, he was sentenced to probation for tax evasion after failing to report more than $24.4 million in income and evading nearly $5.6 million in taxes.
The criminal complaint identified the woman who remains comatose as Linda Malek-Aslanian, 60. Media reports indicate she is a financial services expert who once worked for Warner’s hotels division.
An SFGATE column about a special court for veterans published in 2014 featured Phay, who said at the time that the he was in the Army and trained as an infantry combat soldier; however, just as he was expecting to be deployed to Kuwait, his tour ended and he was out of the military.
“I am fully trained for combat,” he told the outlet. “I have been trained to eliminate you. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true.”
The SFGATE column noted that Phay “had big problems” when he got out of the Army and found himself on the wrong side of the law after following his wife to Colorado and threatening her. After his stint in prison, he ended up in San Francisco at the Veterans Court.
“They’ve recognized that I’m salvageable,” he said at the time.
A report from the Siskiyou Daily News stated that Phay — who was listed as a San Francisco resident — was arrested on Dec. 6, 2014 and charged with assault and battery. Records indicating whether or not Phay was convicted in that case could not be immediately found.
According to inmate search records, Phay remains in custody at the Southern Branch Jail in relation to the May 21 incident. He is being held on no bail.