Background: A photo of the scene outside the home of Ty Warner on May 21, 2025 (Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office). Inset: Russell Maxwell Phay (Siskiyou Sheriff’s Office).
A combat veteran who once warned that he was “trained to eliminate” his enemies allegedly barricaded himself inside the California home of the Beanie Babies CEO.
Russell Maxwell Phay, 43, was taken into custody by authorities after a standoff with law enforcement on May 21, according to a release from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Police said that deputies responded to a call from the Montecito home of reclusive billionaire Ty Warner, 80, the CEO of Beanie Babies. Upon their arrival, deputies came upon a gravely injured woman inside the home and “determined that all other occupants of the home had escaped.”
According to police, Phay was “barricaded in an upstairs restroom.”
Police said that after a crisis intervention-trained deputy attempted to talk Phay out of the bathroom, the suspect attempted to escape out of the room’s second-story window. He was caught outside the home with the help of a K-9 team and taken into custody.
Local NBC affiliate KSBW reported that the female victim, whom Law&Crime is not naming, is a 60-year old financial services expert “who once worked for Warner’s hotels division.” In addition to his Beanie Babies empire, Warner also owns several high-end properties. According to a criminal complaint, the woman was beaten to the point that she was “comatose due to brain injury,” allegedly at the hands of Phay. Warner was unharmed.
The Santa Barbara Independent reported that Phay allegedly broke into Warner’s residence and claimed that it was his home, demanding that everyone inside leave. Phay, a veteran of the U.S. Army, was featured in a 2014 article in the San Francisco Chronicle focused on a court that specialized in veterans’ issues. In that article, Phay stated, “I am fully trained for combat. I have been trained to eliminate you. I know that sounds crazy, but it is true.”
According to the Santa Barbara Independent, Phay had several brushes with the law, including an attack on his wife when she attempted to leave him and take their child with her. Local ABC affiliate KEYT had more information on Phay’s criminal history, including a 2017 arrest in California’s Siskiyou County for assault and battery. He was also named in a complaint in 2024 after allegedly threatening a couple in Arroyo Grande.
Phay is currently being held in jail on $1 million bond after being charged with attempted murder, burglary, kidnapping, assault, and resisting a peace officer.
