Man charged in shooting of California father camping with daughters

Jan. 7 (UPI) -- A California man was charged Monday in a series of shootings in Malibu Creek State Park including the killing of a man who was camping two young daughters.

Anthony Rauda, 42, was charged on one count of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and five counts of second-degree burglary, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

"After a lengthy, extensive investigation, evidence was developed and gathered, incriminating Rauda as being responsible for a series of armed burglaries, multiple shooting incidents and the murder of Tristan Beaudette," the sheriff's department said. "A concentrated effort by detectives to unearth the past activities of Rauda correlating with this investigation has revealed that he apparently acted alone during this identified crime spree, stretching from November 2016 to October 2018. No similar crimes have been reported in the area since the October 2018 arrest of Rauda."

Rauda didn't enter a plea Monday and his hearing was continued until Jan. 22. His bail was set at $1.1 million.

The murder charge stems from the killing of Beaudette, 35, who was shot in his upper torso while camping at the Malibu Creek State Park with his 2- and 4-year-old daughters. The girls weren't injured in the shooting.

Rauda was arrested in the area in October on suspicion of burglary while carrying a rifle. He had since been held on a parole violation and was set to be released this week.

An investigation into Beaudette's killing led police to investigate other unsolved shootings at or near Malibu Creek State Park over the past two years and the campgrounds were shutdown as they searched.

Prosecutors said Rauda was responsible for injuring a man sleeping in a hammock in the Malibu State Park area and allegedly firing into the sleeping area of a vehicle a week later.

He is also accused of shooting into vehicles on three separate instances in 2017, although no one was injured then.