Two busted in crime spree face court

The man in the mugshot is not the John Adrian that an Auburn woman says she knows.Adrian is one of two suspects in a three-day crime spree covering Placer, Nevada and Yuba counties that included two armed carjackings in North Auburn and a crowbar assault that seriously injured an 81-year-old Penn Valley man.Amanda Standridge, 23, said Wednesday that she was shocked when she heard Adrian was in custody on a string of serious allegations."Why would he do that?" Standridge said. "It completely amazes me. I had no idea this was going to happen. He's not like that. He's a great kid."Standridge said that she has known Adrian for about a year. He'd been in a sober house in Auburn but was recently kicked out and didn't have a place to live, she said.The two met up Sunday, went to Nevada Street's Bayside Church in the morning after sharing a cigarette and then had lunch at Elm Avenue's Round Table Pizza before Standridge picked up a prescription.Near the CVS pharmacy, Standridge said she and Adrian met three of his friends and he left with them."One just got out of jail and they were gangster types," she said. "I was kind of worried about him. Now it feels like I've lost a friend."Adrian and 22-year-old Dillon James McMahon were arrested in Yuba County late Monday after a high-speed chase. They made their first court appearance Wednesday in North Auburn's Placer County Jail.Judge Frances Kearney ordered the two to remain in custody on a no-bail hold and appear again for arraignment Thursday morning. McMahon is being charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of carjacking. All counts are felonies and come with an allegation of being armed with a gun during the offenses.So far, Adrian is charged with one count of carjacking in connection with Monday's robbery and one count of criminal conspiracy.The Penn Valley assault took place in Nevada County and all charges have not been filed, however.Nevada County authorities reported McMahon and Adrian face attempted murder charges, in connection with the assault on 81-year-old James Wright. Wright came to the door and when he refused to give money to two men, was beaten over the head with a crowbar, Nevada County Undersheriff Richard Kimball said.Placer County authorities allege McMahon used a gun to carjack a vehicle in North Auburn on Saturday and then dumped the car in the Regional Park pond the next morning. McMahon and Adrian are also accused of carjacking a car Monday from a 51-year-old woman in front of North Auburn's Regional Park.Adrian is listed by law enforcement as a Colfax resident while McMahon is from Roseville. But Standridge said Adrian lived with his mother and grandparents in Newcastle after moving to the area from Southern California. He has been homeless off and on over the past year in the Auburn area, she said.