Patrick Ferncase from Facebook, 2013

Multiple calls went out to 911 reporting a man dressed all in black assaulting another man at a Carlsbad shopping mall, a few days before Christmas. Police responded at 10:22 a.m. on Wednesday, December 22.

Carlsbad police officer Matthew Passovoy went to the Plaza Paseo Real shopping center and spoke to a witness there.

One witness told police he and his girlfriend were from out of town, they were vacationing here, and they went to the mall hoping to see a movie at 11 a.m. When they drove into the parking lot they first noticed a crowd of people and then saw there was a man kicking and stomping an unconscious man on the ground.

This witness described the attacker as a white male with long wavy hair wearing all-black clothing and a black face mask. The man on the ground appeared to be Hispanic and wore a fluorescent jacket and looked as if he could be a worker at the shopping center. The witness saw the attacker walk away and pass the movie theater and go toward the street. This witness continued to drive and followed the attacker; he and his girlfriend used their phones and described the progress of the suspect to police.

Carlsbad police arrived and detained a man; the witness did ID that suspect as the man he saw stomping the other man.

Officer Passovoy said that he went around the parking lot and got the license plates numbers of all the Teslas around the scene because, he said, “They famously have constant recording of the area around them.” Officer Passavoy hoped the video from the Teslas would be helpful in the investigation.

Officer Passovoy then went to the hospital and was told that the 68-year-old victim had a skull fracture and cerebral hemorrhage of the brain. The officer said that so far, police have not been able to get a statement from the victim because he remains in a coma.

Another Carlsbad police detective, Christopher Collier, said the victim was a maintenance worker or janitor for the Plaza Paseo Real shopping center. Detective Collier reviewed video surveillance from different cameras at the shopping center, and he said the janitor was walking in the parking lot toward his cart; at that moment the black-clad suspect was outside the library there. Then the man in black walked toward the victim and punched him without provocation and assaulted the man on the ground for more than a minute before witnesses surrounded him, and then the attacker stopped kicking the victim and walked away.

Detective Collier spoke to the suspect, Patrick James Ferncase, 28, after he was brought to Carlsbad Police Department.

Ferncase was wearing the same, all-black clothing described by the witness and seen in surveillance video, when he was arrested. The detective said this included a black shirt, black pants, and no socks. The suspect’s shoes were collected as evidence, detective Collier said, because they had blood on them.

The family of the victim reported that as of the first week of February, the 68-year-old victim was still on life support, in a coma, and “not responsive.”

During a pre-trial hearing in San Diego’s North County Superior courthouse on February 15, the defendant listened to testimony from police officers. Ferncase appeared thin and pale, and his long, dark-blonde hair was gathered up in a messy bun high on the back of his head.

Patrick James Ferncase is currently acting as his own attorney. At the beginning of the forty-minute hearing, he informed the judge that he wanted “a Marsden hearing.” Judge Pamela Parker informed Ferncase that particular hearing is commonly used to discuss the dismissal of a court-appointed attorney. Ferncase then confirmed that he is “pro per” or acting as his own attorney, and he did want to continue as his own attorney.

The defendant sat alone at the defense table, dressed in jail clothing, while he listened to testimony against him. He did not ask any questions in cross-examination, and he chose not to testify on his own behalf.

Prosecutor Justine Santiago has charged Ferncase with three felonies: elder harm, assault with great bodily injury, and attempted murder. Four family members of the victim were present in the gallery during the pre-trial hearing.

According to the prosecutor, Ferncase was arrested on a misdemeanor case on December 15, and he was then released on his own recognizance, so he was at liberty a week later on December 22 when the new crimes allegedly occurred.

Judge Parker ordered Ferncase back to court on March 2, to answer all charges, and set a date for trial.