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Suspect in Newport Beach doctor killing due in court

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A retired barber suspected of killing a urologist at his Newport Beach office is due in court Wednesday morning, Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials said.

Stanwood Fred Elkus, 75, was arrested Monday on suspicion of homicide for allegedly shooting and killing Ronald Gilbert, 52, in an exam room.

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Sheriff’s department spokesman Jim Amormino said Elkus is expected in court Wednesday morning.

It is unclear whether Elkus, of Lake Elsinore, was a patient of Gilbert’s. Investigators have not disclosed a possible motive for the shooting.

Neighbors said Elkus was having problems with his prostate and undergoing surgeries. He recently told one neighbor that he believed he would soon be dead.

Neighbor Sherry Martin said Elkus would always ride through his Riverside County neighborhood on his bike, wearing a baseball cap. Sometimes, he offered to give haircuts to neighbors.

But Elkus had run-ins with other neighbors. Melissa Evans, 36, said Elkus taunted her family for more than a year in a dispute that began with a disagreement over bushes in her backyard.

Evans said Elkus would pass by her family’s house on his bike or in his car, staring them down, or would harass their dog late at night. ‘He just couldn’t let it go,’ she said. ‘He couldn’t let go of something so small.’ Evans said the erratic behavior was so unsettling that she, her husband and three sons moved to a community 10 miles away. But even after they moved to Wildomar, she said, he was spotted driving by their new home about three months ago.

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On Sunday, Elkus asked his neighbor, James Lord to fix the brake pedal on his car. After Lord was done fixing the pedal, he said Elkus gave him $10 and wanted to let Lord keep the tool he used.

Lord tried to refuse the money and tool and remembered Elkus saying something like, “I’m not going to be alive much longer.” Lord told Elkus he would pray for him.

“I always tried to leave him with a positive note,” Lord said.

Lord said Elkus sometimes complained about his health problems and frequently visited the doctor.

“He didn’t really seem disconnected or anything,’ he said.

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