Patricia Cormack’s residence in South L.A.’s Hyde Park. | Google Maps
A 55-year-old woman described by neighbors as a friendly church-goer who had taken care of foster children pleaded not guilty Friday to the attempted murder of her boyfriend and his brother at her home in South L.A.’s Hyde Park.
Patricia Cormack is being held on $4 million bail, said a district attorney spokeswoman, and will appear next in court on Jan. 24.
The pre-dawn shooting on Dec. 30 left Derek Everett and Darryl Ward hospitalized with multiple wounds, police said. The criminal complaint filed by the DA describes the weapon as a handgun.
Officers found the men, both in their fifties, asking for help shortly after 5:30 a.m., said Detective Ernie Mendoza. Police detained Cormack the same morning and searched her home before arresting her on $500,000 bail. Detectives haven’t revealed the suspected motive for the shooting.
Neighbors on a quiet block of 74th St. with well-kept single-family homes said they were surprised to find police cars, ambulances and helicopters rushing to their block that morning.
Megan Faux, who has lived across the street from where the shooting occurred since 2000, said Cormack regularly attended services on Sundays and bible study on Wednesdays at the City of Refuge church in Gardena. Faux also said Cormack had taken care of girls in foster care.
One neighbor on the block said Cormack was a “pleasant lady” who would greet her on the street. Another said she often saw Cormack walking a small, fluffy white dog.
Cormack’s next-door neighbor awoke Monday morning to the barking of his Rottweiler-German shepherd and saw police arrive to assist the wounded men.
“The first guy came out, put his hands up, saying, ‘She shot me,’” he recalled. The second followed, then Cormack emerged without resisting arrest, he said.
The brothers lived at the residence and had helped take care of Cormack’s mother before she died a couple of months ago, said the neighbor, who requested anonymity. The family owned the house for at least 30 years, he said, as long as his own family had lived on the block. Lately, Cormack had talked about wanting to move out.
Cormack’s two-bedroom white stucco house with a Mediterranean red tile roof showed no sign of a scuffle on Monday afternoon, at least from outside. A green watering hose was curled on the trimmed lawn. A silver Mercedes with a crucifix hanging from the rearview mirror was parked in the driveway behind what appeared to be an old, rust-colored Dodge bearing a blue-and-yellow California license plate. Children’s playthings, including a Disney-themed toy car in hot pink, were scattered near the arched entryway.
In 1994 Cormack pleaded guilty to drug possession with intent to sell, according to county records. The charges were dismissed four years later after she completed a court-ordered program and probation. If convicted for attempted murder, Cormack could face a prison sentence of 25 years to life.
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Wonder why there’s no update on the reason for the shooting. I guess the neighborhood feel real stupid now. She tried to kill them for financial gain. She put a life insurance policy for 100,000.00 on one of the brothers, tried to kill them to cash in the policy. She was broke and had a gambling problem. I hope they give her lwop. That’s a mean and evil woman. She has many faces and they shall be revealed.