Court documents reveal more details about deadly Roseville hostage standoff and hospital escape

As the suspect’s criminal proceedings continue, court documents reveal more details about what happened to a married couple taken hostage during a police standoff last year at a Roseville park, where the husband was shot to death and his wife was wounded.

Eric James Abril, 36, is accused of shooting James MacEgan of Roseville and his wife, Patricia MacEgan, during the April 6 standoff with police at Mahany Park. James MacEgan, 72, died from his injuries. Patricia MacEgan and a California Highway Patrol officer were wounded by gunfire.

Abril, of Roseville, appeared Tuesday morning in Placer Superior Court for a brief hearing. Judge Stephen Mock confirmed a March 29 hearing to assign a judge to preside over Abril’s preliminary hearing, which is scheduled to begin in the first week of April.

At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, that judge will decide whether Abril will stand trial as charged. He faces charges of murder and attempted murder stemming from the incident at Mahany Park.

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 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.

More details about hostage situation

In documents filed in court in September, Placer County Deputy District Attorney David Tellman wrote that multiple CHP detectives tried to detain Abril on April 6 at Mahany Park to serve a search warrant and search his vehicle. The CHP has not released any details about that investigation or why the investigators decided to serve the search warrant at the busy Roseville park in the middle of the afternoon.

Abril also 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, the prosecutor wrote in the Sept. 15 document. 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.

Abril pointed his gun at her head as he ordered her to call 911, which she did, Tellman alleges. The prosecutor said that Abril, during the 911 call, instructed Patricia MacEgan to order law enforcement officials to back up from their positions and to move aerial drones that were monitoring Abril’s location.

“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.

Soon after, Roseville police officers and other assisting law enforcement officials used heavily armored vehicles to make their way to Abril’s location in the creek.

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.

July escape from Roseville hospital

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.

The document from September provides additional details about the reported escape. Tellman wrote that Abril’s escape was captured by a video camera connected to an electroencephalogram (EEG machine) near his hospital bed.

The prosecutor alleged that video shows Abril was able to remove his wrist from a handcuff attached to chains around his waist. Abril then waited until the sheriff’s deputy walked to a location in the room where there was no line of sight between Abril and the deputy, Tellman said.

“With the deputy out of sight, the defendant (who was not otherwise secured to the hospital bed) sprung out of bed and ran out of his hospital room,” Tellman alleges. “Additional video footage from the hospital revealed (Abril) fled down the hallway of the hospital to a stairwell, which eventually led to an area outside the hospital.”

Abril’s attorneys, assistant public defenders Brandon Bob and Matt Bockman, appeared with their client in Tuesday morning’s hearing. Bob said he has reviewed the allegations in the prosecution’s motion to consolidate Abril’s court cases.

“We certainly have empathy for the victims,” Bob told The Sacramento Bee. “But allegations are just allegations, and we’re just working our way through the process.”

Criminal charges against Abril

Abril is accused of murder in MacEgan’s death along with special allegations of using a 10mm handgun to kidnap the victim while committing the crime. Prosecutors also have charged Abril with aggravated kidnapping causing bodily harm in holding Patricia MacEganat gunpoint, along with special allegations of using the handgun in the crime.

The Placer County District Attorney’s Office also charged Abril with attempted murder of the CHP officer, Hiatt, with special allegations that Abril used the handgun and was wearing a body armor vest in the crime. He also faces a charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a gun.

In September, the prosecutor filed two more counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, alleging that Abril also fired gunshots at two other officers during the April 6 standoff with police.

The prosecutor has told the court that reports they have received since the park shooting provided a legal basis to file the additional attempted murder charges against Abril.

It’s unclear what new information was in those reports. Only Hiatt and the woman taken hostage were wounded. No other injuries in the park shooting have been reported.

Prosecutors allege Abril fired the handgun at peace officers Tyson Becker and Leo Smith. The additional attempted murder charges include the same special allegations for using the handgun and body armor vest.