Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A man suspected in a recent spate of serial killings in Southern California made his first court appearance Tuesday after being charged with three counts of murder and other felony weapons violations.
Authorities say 43-year-old Wesley Brownlee is suspected in a total of six slayings dating back to spring of 2021 -- attacks that appear to be random.
One victim, whose name was withheld, survived the "reign of terror," police said.
For now, Brownlee is charged with only the most recent deaths -- those of 21-year-old Jonathan Rodriguez Hernandez, killed Aug. 30; 52-year-old Juan Carlos Carranza-Cruz, killed Sept. 21; and 54-year-old Lawrence Lopez, killed Sept. 27.
Related
Police arrested Brownlee at 2 a.m. Saturday during a traffic stop that uncovered a dark mask around his neck and a semi-automatic handgun in his car, which led Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden to believe the suspect was "out hunting."
Brownlee is currently jailed without the possibility of bail, and his arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 14, at which time he is expected to plead to the charges, including additional counts for being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun and ammunition.
Authorities have not brought charges yet in two related killings that ended the lives of 35-year-old Paul Alexander Yaw and 43-year-old Salvador William Debudey Jr.
Brownlee worked as a commercial truck driver and had recently moved to Stockton from the San Francisco area.
Brownlee's teenage years were marred by tragedy, as his brother and two close friends were murdered on the same block in his hometown of East Oakland in the mid-1990s.
It was around this time that Brownlee's legal troubles began, with records showing an extensive criminal history, including three arrests for selling crack cocaine.
Detectives said they were able to link many of the Stockton crime scenes through cell phone data, ballistic testing and video evidence.
Police traced the first killing to April 2021, around the same time a homeless woman was shot but survived. Then inexplicably, the killings stopped for more than a year before a series of five fatal shootings in Stockton between July 8 and Sept. 27.
Investigators soon connected the crimes and on Sept. 30 announced that a serial killer might be responsible.
Hundreds of tips from the community resulted in a sting operation that put Brownlee under surveillance over the past week before he was finally taken into custody while driving in the middle of the night.
