Man pleads not guilty in killing of doctor

SANTA ANA — A man accused of killing a Newport Beach doctor pleaded not guilty to murder Friday in Orange County Superior Court.

Stanwood Elkus, 75, of Lake Elsinore, pressed against the third floor courtroom’s cage to listen to his public defender, Jennifer Nicolalde, and shouted his responses to the judge.

He stands accused of shooting and killing Ronald Gilbert, a urologist, at Orange Coast Urology, 520 Superior Ave., near Hoag Hospital, on Jan. 28. He also faces sentencing enhancements for allegedly lying in wait and using a gun to cause death.

Prosecutors said Elkus made an appointment to see the doctor, waited for him in an exam room and then fired six or seven times when the doctor entered.

Gilbert, 52, lived in Huntington Harbour with his wife and two children.

Gilbert served as the chief of urology for Hoag Hospital between 1998 and 2002 and worked as a voluntary faculty member at UC Irvine Medical School.

Elkus is slated to return to court June 6 for a preliminary hearing.

— Lauren Williams

Twitter: @lawilliams30