Family Matters star Darius McCrary was denied bail during his first court appearance following his arrest at the U.S.-Mexico border over the weekend.
McCrary, 49, appeared in San Diego Superior Court on Wednesday, where a judge denied his bail after he had been arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents on Sunday for an out-of-state felony warrant, according to Blavity and People.
The judge agreed with prosecutors that McCrary was a flight risk after he was apprehended crossing into the U.S. from Mexico. At the hearing, McCrary initially chose to represent himself, but the judge later appointed a public defender.
He will remain in a San Diego jail until he is extradited to Michigan, where he has a warrant for missing a court appearance related to unpaid child support for his daughter Zoey, his rep told TMZ.
McCrary was reportedly in Mexico for real estate
Prosecutors said the actor owed more than $75,000 in child support to his daughter in Michigan as of August 2024, ABC 10 News reported. They said the amount is now “substantially more.”
They also stated that McCrary’s agent said he was in Mexico looking to buy real estate. However, his public defender argued against that claim, stating that he was in Tijuana working with a group to build homes before he was arrested for re-entering the U.S. from Mexico.
McCrary’s rep, Ann Barlow, told People that the prosecution’s labeling of her client as a flight risk is false. She said he has no ties to Tijuana and accidentally crossed over due to “a mix-up [about] where to meet his partner for the Esperanza program,” when he volunteered to build homes for unhoused people.
While McCrary initially waived his right to fight extradition, Barlow said he remains focused on fighting the case in Michigan.
McCrary has another court date set for Nov. 14, according to online records.