A woman accused of helping a man flee California after he struck and killed two pedestrians in Santa Monica last month has been arrested and now faces criminal charges.
Marchonda Lajon Whitaker, 42, was charged with one felony count of after the fact, and could face up to three years in prison.
Whitaker is accused of helping Alex Kirksey, 38, leave the state without being arrested before he was eventually located and taken into custody in Chicago earlier this week.
Kirksey has since been extradited to Los Angeles County to face charges including two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of 61-year-old Brad Lipshy and Maura Cohen.
Lipshy and Cohen were shot on the evening of October 24 in the 1300 block of Wilshire Boulevard. At approximately 9:15 p.m., Santa Monica Police responded to several 911 calls reporting an orange Dodge Charger had struck four people on the sidewalk.
Lipshy and Cohen died at the scene, and two others were transported to a local hospital with serious injuries but are expected to survive.
The Dodge Charger was allegedly driven by Kirksey, who investigators say abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene on foot. It was later revealed that the car was rented, and it was likely that Whittaker had initially rented it.
According to charges filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Whitaker knew of Kirksey’s involvement in the fatal crash but helped him leave the state.
Whitaker was arrested in Santa Monica on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the charges during her first court appearance on Friday. She remains in custody on $25,000 bail.
Kirksey made his first appearance in court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty. He remains in custody on $1 million bail.
In addition to the vehicular manslaughter charges, Kirksey also faces one count of felony hit-and-run resulting in death, one count of felony hit-and-run resulting in injury, and one count of reckless driving.
If convicted as charged, he could spend up to 26 years in prison.