According to authorities, a suspect in a string of shootings in Northern California that left six men dead and one woman wounded has a criminal history that includes traffic infractions and drug-related offences.
Wesley Brownlee, 43, was detained by Stockton police on Sunday after they followed him as he drove through the city’s streets while carrying a firearm and perhaps “out hunting” for another victim, according to authorities.
According to the California Department of Corrections, Brownlee was given a two-year jail term in Alameda County, which includes the city of Oakland, in January 1999 for carrying and selling a restricted narcotic. He served his sentence for seven months before being granted parole in August 1999.
In December 2001, Brownlee was found guilty of the same offence once more in Alameda County and received a three-year sentence. In May 2003, he was granted parole, and three years later, he was released.
According to Elisa Bubak, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, prosecutors in San Joaquin County, which contains Stockton, were working with the city’s police department today to analyse the evidence and anticipate filing charges tomorrow.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Brownlee has a lawyer who can speak for him.
Court documents show he was first arrested at age 15 in Alameda County on suspicion of selling crack cocaine and was placed on house arrest, The East Bay Times reported.
Brownlee was arrested once more in 1997 when he was 18 years old, accused of carrying crack cocaine, and given a three-year probationary period. After he supplied cocaine to a police officer acting undercover, his probation was revoked a year later. He was then given a two-year state prison sentence and sent to San Quentin, according to the newspaper.
Brownlee grew up in Oakland just six blocks from where the Oakland victim was killed, the East Bay Times reported, citing court records.
According to KXTV-TV, all of the murders in Stockton took place close to the addresses for Brownlee and his family members.
Ballistics tests and video footage, according to investigators, connected the crimes. The weapon the defendant is believed to have been carrying is black and grey, as seen in a police photo. It looked like a semi-automatic handgun made of certain non-metallic components.
Police said after Brownlee’s arrest that he was dressed in black, had a mask around his neck and a handgun, and was possibly searching for another victim when he was arrested driving around Stockton, where five men were ambushed and shot to death between July 8 and September 27. One victim was inside a parked automobile, while the other four were on foot.
Police suspect the same shooter wounded the woman in Stockton a week after killing a man 110 kilometres away in Oakland in April 2021.
A moment of silence was observed for the victims during the news conference on Sunday.
On April 10, 2021, Juan Vasquez Serrano, 39, died in Oakland, while on April 16, 2021, Natasha LaTour, 46, was shot in Stockton but lived. The five men killed in Stockton this year were Paul Yaw, 35, who died July 8; Salvador Debudey Jr.
, 43, who passed away on August 11; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21; Juan Cruz, 52; and Lawrence Lopez Sr., 54; all of whom passed away on September 27.
After receiving a large number of tips, detectives were able to find and keep an eye on Brownlee’s residence. They observed his patterns, determined he was out searching for another victim and arrested him, authorities said.
Some victims, according to the police, were not all destitute.
No one was assaulted or robbed, and the woman who survived claimed her assailant remained silent.
Details regarding the criminal record of an alleged US serial murderer are revealed.
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