Man accused of murder in standoff with police at Roseville park appears in Placer court
A man accused in a police standoff last year at a Roseville park, where a hostage was killed and two other people were wounded, appeared briefly in court Tuesday as attorneys prepare for an evidentiary hearing next month.
Eric James Abril, 36, faces charges of murder and attempted murder in the shooting at Mahaany Park in Roseville.
Abril is accused of shooting James MacEgan of Roseville and his wife, Patricia MacEgan, during the April 6, 2023, standoff with police. James MacEgan, 72, died from his injuries. Patricia MacEgan and a California Highway Patrol officer were wounded by gunfire.
Abril, of Roseville, also is accused of escaping from custody while receiving medical treatment at a Roseville hospital three months after he was taken into custody following the park standoff.
A preliminary hearing for the court to determine whether there’s enough evidence for Abril to stand trial remains scheduled to begin July 15.
One of Abril’s court-appointed attorneys, assistant public defender Brandon Bob, asked the judge on Tuesday morning to schedule another hearing July 9 to make sure there’s no additional discovery evidence that’s been submitted that could delay the preliminary hearing. Placer Superior Court Judge Eugene Gini granted the defense attorney’s request.
Police officials have said Abril took the couple hostage during the standoff with police after a shootout with CHP detectives trying to serve a search warrant at the park.
Abril is accused of shooting and wounding CHP Officer Matthew Hiatt during the shootout with the officers at the park before he confronted the MacEgans.
At the time of the initial gun battle, the MacEgans were on an afternoon walk through a field where Abril had taken cover in a creek after the initial shootout, Placer County Deputy District Attorney David Tellman wrote in a court document filed Sept. 15. Tellman said the couple heard the gunshots coming from nearby and took cover in the grass near the creek.
As numerous officers converged at the park and created a perimeter around Abril’s location, Abril made his way up the creek to where the MacEgans had taken cover in the grass, according to Tellman.
The prosecutor alleges that Abril confronted the couple, at which point James MacEgan was shot and killed, before Abril grabbed MacEgan’s wife and pulled her into the creek.
“When (Abril) became frustrated that law enforcement wasn’t responding to his demands quickly enough, Abril shot Patricia MacEgan through the shoulder (which was captured by drone video),” Tellman wrote in the court document.
The prosecutor alleges that Abril then used Patricia MacEgan as a “human shield” as he approached the officers and surrendered. Abril was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with officers, police said. He was hospitalized until the following evening, when he was booked at the Placer County Jail.
Abril also faces an additional felony charge of escaping from law enforcement custody. Abril had been in Placer County Sheriff’s Office custody until July 9, when he escaped from Sutter Roseville Medical Center.
Sheriff’s officials have said Abril was being guarded by a deputy but managed “to defeat his restraints” and slip out of the hospital shortly after 3 a.m. while the deputy was on a bathroom break. Abril was captured after a 33-hour manhunt. He remains in custody at the jail.
