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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Authorities in Stockton said Saturday they had arrested a serial killing suspect while driving through the streets of Stockton in Northern California and scouring for new victims, armed with a handgun.
The Stockton
Police Department said the suspect Wesley Brownlee, 43, was arrested on a
single charge of homicide although more charges are expected.
The suspect
is tied to the serial killings of late.
Making the
announcement, Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said based on tips coming
into the department and Stockton Crime Stoppers, surveillance team followed the
suspect while he was driving before dawn on Saturday.
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| Photo Credit: Stockton Police Department via Facebook Page. |
While
officers trailed him, they determined he was “on a mission to kill” and “was
out hunting” for new victims. Officers stopped him in the area of Village Green
Drive and Winslow Avenue at around 2 am on Saturday and he was taken into
custody, the police chief said.
“As officers
made contact with him, he was wearing dark clothing and a mask around his
neck. He was also armed with a firearm
when he was taken into custody. We are
sure we stopped another killing.
Arrested was Wesley Brownlee, 43, for homicide.”
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| Photo Credit: Stockton Police Department via Facebook Page. |
The police
boss said the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office will be reviewing
the investigation and “will make the appropriate charges.”
“I want all
of you to know how seriously I take these types of investigations,” McFadden
said. “This morning, when SWAT team
members hit Wesley’s apartment so Homicide Detectives could serve a search
warrant, I was there with them.”
Five men
aged 21 to 54 were shot dead between July and September, according to the
Washington Examiner. A sixth victim lived in the Bay Area city of Oakland,
California.
Authorities
had been searching for a man clad in black who was caught on video at several
of the crime scenes in Stockton where the five victims were ambushed and shot
to death starting from July 8 and September 27, according to The Associated
Press. While four were walking, one was in a parked car.
Investigators
said ballistics tests and video evidence linked the crimes. Police believe the
same person was responsible for killing a man 70 miles away in Oakland in April 2021 and wounding a homeless woman in Stockton one week later, The Associated
Press reported.
The five
victims killed in Stockton this year were Paul Yaw, 35, who died July 8;
Salvador Debudey Jr., 43, who died Aug.11; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21,
who died August 30; Juan Cruz, 52, who died September 21; and Lawrence Lopez
Sr., 54 who died September 27, according to The Associated Press.
District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar said she anticipates filing additional charges other than the homicide charge during a Saturday press conference.