Early Saturday morning, a suspected serial killer was arrested in northern California while driving down the streets of Stockton, police confirmed. After receiving tips about the suspect, “Our surveillance officers followed his moves while he was driving. They watched every move he made and determined that he was on a mission to commit a crime,” Stanley McFadden, Stockton Chief Police, said during a news conference.
The 43-year-old suspect, identified as Wesley Brownlee, was wearing black attire with a mask around his neck. At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of a handgun and “was probably out hunting” his next victim. “We are sure today we stopped another killing,” McFadden added.
Brownlee will be arraigned in court and charged with murder next Tuesday.
For some time now, police have been searching for a man seen in black attire on video taken at the crime scenes in Stockton. Brownlee allegedly ambushed and shot five people between July 8 and September 27 of this year. Four people who were killed were walking on the street, and another was killed in a parked car. Authorities believe the suspect was responsible for the death of another man in Oakland in April 2021, and that he wounded a homeless woman in Stockton, also in April 2021.
Investigators say the video footage and evidence suggest that both crimes in 2021 are related.
Police also say that Brownlee has a prior criminal record.
The people who died during the outrageous acts include Juan Vasquez Serrano, 39; Juan Cruz, 52; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21; Paul Yaw, 35; Lawrence Lopez, Sr, 54; and Salvador Debudey, Jr, 43. According to investigators, the motive is not yet clear, but some of the victims who died were homeless. During the shootings, the victims were neither robbed nor beaten.
Police thanked the different state departments, including the local authorities, for participating in the investigations. Local investigators are cooperating with the Chicago police to determine whether the killings are related to two other murders that occurred in the Rogers Park neighborhood in 2018. In video footage, authorities confirmed that a man with similar features can be seen. Chicago police say that a link has not been proven yet.