Man charged with shooting Bay Area K-9 Officer Murph pleads not guilty
The man accused of shooting and wounding Vacaville K-9 Officer Murph earlier this month pleaded not guilty Tuesday to six felony counts during arraignment in Solano County Superior Court in Fairfield.
The attorney for Darren Ronald Crail, 52, whose alleged actions last week led to the amputation of the Belgian Malinois’ left leg, entered the pleas during an afternoon session in Department 4 in the Hall of Justice.
Shortly after entering the pleas, Deputy Public Defender Mardin Malik, his defense attorney, argued for bail for Crail, a gray-haired and bearded man who entered the courtroom in a wheelchair and was clad in a striped jail jumpsuit.
However, Deputy District Attorney Amanda Hopper, who represented the DA’s Office, said Crail should not be released from custody on bail because of the nature of the felony allegations: willfully harming a peace officer’s dog, illegally possesing an assault weapon, carrying a loaded handgun not his own, carrying a loaded firearm in public, discharging the firearm, and resisting arrest. Crail also is charged with making annoying calls to 911, a misdemeanor.
Judge Marlo S. Nisperos denied Mardin’s request. She cited court records and “underlying facts” that he had “threatened himself and neighbors” on Jan. 15, the day he was arrested on suspicion of the shooting, which occurred after police arrived at a residence in the 300 block of Regency Circle in Vacaville.
Nisperos then assigned the case to Department 25, Judge Janice M. Williams’ courtroom and set a readiness conference in the case for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 29 in the Justice Center in Fairfield. Nisperos also scheduled a preliminary hearing for 10 a.m. Jan. 31.
K-9 Officer Murph lost his left leg to amputation the night of Jan. 15 at UC Davis Veterinary Hospital, police officials said last week.
Lt. Chris Lechuga, the department’s public information officer, told The Reporter a veterinarian performed the amputation during an 8 p.m. surgery at the campus hospital.
K-9 Murph, a 4-year-old male K-9, returned to his handler’s home Thursday afternoon and is resting, said Lechuga.
Police interactions with Crail actually began Jan. 14, said Lechuga, who also is a patrol watch commander.
Crail had called police dispatch initially threatening to harm himself. Officers contacted him but he declined all resources and various services offered to him, Lechuga added.
The incident escalated after Crail called a department dispatcher, threatening to shoot members of the community. Police SWAT and crisis negotiators responded to the residence and attempted to get Crail to leave the home peacefully, Lechuga said.
K-9 Murph responded to the residence with his handler and several announcements were made to have Crail exit his home. Lechuga said that, when Crail finally exited the front door, he was armed with a rifle and refused to surrender peacefully.
K-9 Murph attempted to take Crail into custody, and he fired at least one rifle round, striking the dog in the leg. Officers rushed the dog to the UC Davis hospital.
Lechuga couldn’t remember a time in his 17 years with the department that a K-9 officer was shot in Vacaville. He praised Murph for dedicated service to the department and city, where he has served for the past three years.
“He’s a member of our police family and we are certainly proud of the courage he demonstrated under these circumstances,” Lechuga said last week. “We are devastated that one of our officers was wounded in this terrible circumstance. We will do all we can to support both him and his handler.”
He asked the community to keep Murph and his handler in their thoughts.
If convicted at trial, Crail, who remains in Solano County Jail, may face as much as three years in state prison for shooting and wounding K-9 Murph and perhaps more time for the firearms charges. He also could face a fine up to $10,000.
The Associated Press last year reported that at least six states are considering longer prison sentences and bigger fines for harming or killing police dogs.