Redlands Doctor Faked Gunshot Injuries in Bizarre Escape Plan, Police Charge

A Redlands doctor, seeking to escape a medical practice he was tired of, faked a burglary at his office, fled to Arizona and punched holes in himself with a rod to make it appear that he had been shot, a police spokesman said Friday.

“Dr. Robert McCormick has admitted to investigators that he fabricated the entire incident in which he was believed to be the victim of an attempted homicide,” said Glendale police spokesman Marshal Downen. “Dr. McCormick stated last night from his hospital bed that he had planned the deception for months.”

McCormick, a pediatrician, was found early Tuesday lying on a sidewalk in an industrial area of Glendale.

No Identification

He had no identification, but identified himself to police after undergoing emergency surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Downen said.

McCormick had been reported missing Nov. 13 by Redlands police, who said they had tried unsuccessfully to contact him about a burglary at his office. He first told Phoenix police that he could remember nothing from the time he disappeared to when he woke up in the hospital.

But he told an entirely different story Friday, Downen said.

“He staged the burglary from his office in Redlands, then came to Arizona on his motorcycle,” Downen said. “He traveled around the state, staying in motels and hotels under assumed names while looking for a site to be discovered as a victim of an abduction and attempted homicide.”

Used Anesthetic

Downen said McCormick told investigators that he used a “grinding tool” to bruise his skin and then anesthetized his head and abdomen and “jammed a rod into these areas to simulate being shot.”

He said McCormick had fired a .32-caliber handgun into a piece of meat and inserted the spent bullet into the wound he had made in his abdomen.

He then walked to the Glendale site where he was found, injected himself with Demerol “to create a stuporous appearance,” bound himself at the ankles, wrist and neck, rolled himself up in black landscaping plastic and waited to be discovered, Downen said.

He said McCormick told police that he had been going through a divorce for two years.

“Dr. McCormick stated that he planned the deception because he was tired of his practice in Redlands and wanted to leave it and yet retain an income, which he planned to receive through disability insurance as a result of his traumatic ordeal,” Downen said.

May Have Been Depressed

Nedra McCormick speculated that her husband may have been suffering from depression because of the divorce.

“He needs a lot of prayers,” she said. “If he really would do this, he needs prayers.”

Redlands Police Sgt. Walter Kadyk said the case was being referred to the San Bernardino County district attorney to determine if there was any criminal intent and if charges should be filed against McCormick.

The Redlands city attorney also will consider seeking repayment from McCormick for expenses associated with investigating his disappearance.

“We spent $25,000 in just investigators’ time and expenses,” Kadyk said. “We had two people assigned full time, to the detriment of other pending cases.”

Downen said Glendale police will seek misdemeanor charges of making a false report against McCormick.

McCormick remained hospitalized on Friday but had been removed from the intensive care unit, Downen said.