A person the police described as a “potential serial killer” who terrorized residents in California’s Central Valley in a string of deadly shootings was arrested early on Saturday whereas he was “out looking” for extra victims, the authorities mentioned.
The person, Wesley Brownlee, 43, was arrested in Stockton after an investigation that related 5 deadly shootings throughout Stockton together with a killing about 70 miles away.
At a information convention on Saturday, the police didn’t launch any details about a motive. They mentioned Mr. Brownlee has a legal historical past however didn’t present particulars.
The arrest was the product of fine police work and an engaged public, mentioned Stanley McFadden, the chief of the Stockton Police Division.
Members of the general public submitted a lot of ideas concerning the shootings, which had rattled town and close by communities. Based mostly on these ideas, the police zeroed in on a suspect, Chief McFadden mentioned. A reward for data resulting in an arrest had grown to $125,000.
The police mentioned that Mr. Brownlee was taken into custody round 2 a.m. native time and not using a battle. When officers arrested him, he was sporting darkish clothes, had a masks round his neck and was carrying a firearm, Chief McFadden mentioned.
“Our surveillance group adopted this individual whereas he was driving,” he mentioned. “We watched his patterns and decided early this morning he was on a mission to kill. He was out looking.”
He added later, “We’re positive we stopped one other killing.”
Tori Verber Salazar, the district legal professional for San Joaquin County, mentioned that her workplace was reviewing proof to find out fees, which might be introduced on Tuesday. She mentioned the seize of Mr. Brownlee was the product of a group effort.
“You don’t come to our home and convey this sort of reign of terror” with out mobilizing Stockton and the county, she mentioned.
The arrest got here almost two weeks after the police mentioned that 5 victims, all males between the ages of 21 and 54, had been fatally shot whereas alone in dimly lit areas at evening or within the early morning between July 8 and Sept. 27. 4 of the boys had been Hispanic; one was white. None had been robbed.
The police later mentioned that that they had additionally linked these instances to 2 extra shootings: a 40-year-old Hispanic man who was killed in Oakland, Calif., about 70 miles west of Stockton, on April 10; and a 46-year-old Black girl who was shot in Stockton on April 16 and survived.
Chief McFadden mentioned on Oct. 4 that the authorities believed they had been coping with a “potential serial killer” after investigators related the killings by means of ballistic and video footage, together with a clip that confirmed an individual with an uneven stride and an upright posture.
Investigators interviewed the lady who survived and realized that she had been in her tent when she heard somebody strolling round her campsite. When she stepped exterior, she noticed somebody sporting darkish garments and a masks pointing a gun at her, Chief McFadden mentioned.
She rushed towards the gunman and was shot a number of occasions earlier than the person lowered his gun, Chief McFadden mentioned.
The killings had unfold anxiousness amongst some residents, with many questioning who could possibly be behind such coldblooded acts in Stockton, which is within the agricultural flatlands of California’s Central Valley. The town, which has lengthy struggled with poverty and violence, is 80 miles east of the San Francisco Bay Space and residential to about 322,000 folks.
Vimal Patel contributed reporting.