Two men arrested in a crime spree in Auburn and Nevada County were arraigned today in Placer County Superior Court in Auburn.
Defendants Dillon James McMahon, 22, of Roseville, and John Cody Adrian, 19, of Colfax appeared before Superior Court Judge Colleen Nichols, according to a Placer County District Attorney's Office spokesman.
McMahon's attorney, Helen Fong of the Placer County Public Defender's Office, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to two counts of carjacking, one count of kidnapping, one count of kidnapping during commission of a carjacking and one count of conspiracy to commit a crime. All are felonies.
Adrian is charged with one count of carjacking and one count of conspiracy to commit a crime, both felonies. His court-appointed attorney, David Cohen of Auburn, entered a not guilty plea on Adrian's behalf.
Both defendants are being held in Placer County jail without bail.
McMahon and Adrian also are being held on a warrant from Nevada County on an attempted murder charge involving the beating of 81-year-old James Wright. Wright was severely beaten with a tire iron in Nevada County on Monday when he allegedly refused to give the men money. Wright was reported in fair condition today at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.
The crime spree began about noon Saturday when a 19-year-old Grass Valley woman was carjacked and kidnapped from the Chase Bank parking lot in Auburn, according to the Placer County Sheriff's Department.
The woman later was ordered out of the car. The vehicle was recovered early Sunday morning in a pond at Regional Park in Auburn.
At 4:15 p.m. Monday, a second carjacking occurred in front of the same park. A 51-year-old woman who was leaving her car was approached by two men who had a weapon and took her car, according to a Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.
The car, a Honda, was the vehicle occupied by McMahon and Adrian when they were arrested Monday night by Yuba County law enforcement officers after a high-speed pursuit near Marysville. The vehicle was stopped by a spike strip.
The men are to appear for further court proceedings May 12 in Auburn.
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