Two men were charged Friday with special circumstances murder in the death of a registered sex offender found in an Anaheim motel room.
Matthew Russell Kundrat, 28, and Manuel Ramos, 44, both of Santa Ana, are accused of killing 63-year-old Christopher David Craddick of Anaheim. The special circumstances allegation was burglary, according to the criminal complaint.
The two did not enter a plea at their arraignment Friday and were scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 28 in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
Officers were called about 10:15 a.m. Monday to the Akua Motor Inn, 1018 E. Orangethrope Avenue, near Raymond Avenue, after a motel manager found the victim, who had sustained “obvious signs of traumatic injury,” Anaheim police reported. Craddick was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kundrat was convicted in February 2017 of burglary, theft with a prior conviction for car theft, possession of a short-barreled shotgun and rifle, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor counts of possession of burglary tools, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.
Kundrat has pending cases of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and possession of a hard drug with two or more prior convictions, all felonies, as well as a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
As recently as Dec. 17, Kundrat pleaded guilty to possessing drugs in jail and possession with the intent to sell and conspiracy to smuggle drugs into jail. He also resolved a separate case at the time of possession of a gun and ammunition by a felon and committing a crime while out of custody.
The victim pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography in July 2014 and violated probation. He was accused in 2018 of drinking, possessing a sex toy and was accessing pornography, but a probation officer said he was participating in sex offender treatment, according to court records.
Newport Beach police found that Craddick had about 4,000 images and about 600 videos of child pornography on his computer, probation officials said. Some of the victims were 3 to 5 years old.