by Rob NagleA Mill Valley man who tried to throw his wife off the San Mateo Bridge pleaded no contest Monday to a charge of felony domestic violence, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Xavier McClinton, 47, had reportedly been acting strange leading up to the events of Dec. 13, 2013, when he and his wife had been involved in an argument while driving over the bridge, prosecutors said. McClinton then attempted to drive off the bridge and crashed into the guard rail.
McClinton grabbed his wife and reportedly tried to throw her over the guard rail into the water, prosecutors said. McClinton and his wife both went over the ledge but passersby grabbed the wife's legs holding her while McClinton fell into the water.
McClinton had faced a charge of attempted murder, but with the no contest plea will face only a maximum of seven years in state prison, Wagstaffe said. He also admitted to infliction of great bodily injury enhancement and a serious felony allegation.
He will return to court May 16 for sentencing.
Investigators at the time of his arrest said McClinton had been acting paranoid over the two weeks that preceded the incident. He is said to have thought people were trying to break into his home and kill him.
McClinton and his wife, who sustained a serious facial injury in the incident, have been married for eight years and run a gym together in Corte Madera called Body by X, McClinton's nickname. McClinton is a personal trainer and was featured in a story in the Marin Independent Journal in June 2011.
McClinton's wife, Nadia, is still standing by his side, starting a gofundme.com site to help with his legal expenses, according to the Mill Valley Patch.
"Anyone who knows Xavier knows he is a gentle giant, and has given so much to so many," she wrote on the site. "This is going to be a long, healing process."