Darius McCrary Denied Bail at First Court Appearance Since Fugitive Arrest

Darius McCrary remains behind bars following his fugitive arrest earlier this month.

The Family Matters alum, 49, appeared in court on Wednesday, Oct. 15, where a judge denied him bail following his Oct. 5 arrest on an out-of-state felony warrant. The judge agreed with prosecutors that the actor is a flight risk, given he was taken into custody by Border Patrol while crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.

While McCrary initially chose to forgo a lawyer and represent himself, the judge ultimately appointed him a public defender. He will continue to be held in a San Diego jail until he is extradited back to Michigan — where his warrant was issued after he missed a court appearance for alleged unpaid child support — which must be done within 30 days.

Prosecutors stated inside the courtroom that McCrary’s agent allegedly said he was in Tijuana looking at real estate, San Diego’s local ABC10 News reported. However, McCrary’s public defender claimed he was there to work with a charity building houses.

McCrary’s rep, Ann Barlow, tells PEOPLE that McCrary is not a flight risk because he has no ties to Tijuana. She says he accidentally crossed into Mexico due to “a mix-up [about] where to meet his partner for the Esperanza program,” where he volunteered to build homes for unhoused individuals.

Barlow also says McCrary plans to continue to fight his case in Michigan.

According to online records, McCrary has another court date set for Nov. 14.

McCrary’s previous legal troubles include his messy divorce battle with ex-wife Tammy Brawner regarding their 2017 filing.

They finalized the divorce in February 2019, and McCrary was ordered to pay $1,366 per month in child support ($916 as a base amount, plus $415 in child-care costs), according to documents obtained by PEOPLE at the time.

Per that agreement, Brawner, a former Harlem Globetrotter, was granted full legal and physical custody of the former couple’s then-3-year-old daughter Zoey.

McCrary was also ordered to attend alcohol/drug abuse and batterers’ intervention classes within 12 months and was granted professionally-monitored visitation with Zoey every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until he completed 10 visits, when restrictions would continue to lessen.

Darius McCrary. Prince Williams/ Getty

In 2018, PEOPLE reported that Brawner alleged that McCrary “partially dislocated” Zoey’s arm, per court documents obtained by The Blast at the time.

Brawner reportedly told doctors that the incident occurred when McCrary was taking his daughter to the bathroom and “grabbed her arm.” McCrary reportedly denied that account and claimed he “grabbed one hand to lift her up and immediately grabbed the other.”

Zoey was allegedly diagnosed with Nursemaid’s elbow, a common elbow injury among young children and toddlers that occurs when a child’s elbow is pulled and one of the bones partially dislocates.

McCrary is best known for his role as Eddie Winslow on the hit ’90s sitcom Family Matters from 1989-1998 which he starred alongside on-screen parents Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.