‘He was out hunting’: Police arrest suspect in California serial killings

STOCKTON, Calif. — Police said they have arrested a man suspected of killing at least six men and wounding a woman in Northern California.

Authorities believe that Wesley Brownlee, 43, of Stockton, was out searching for another victim when he was captured by police around 2 a.m. Saturday in Stockton, California, according to KCRA.

He was dressed in black, had a mask around his neck, had a gun and “was out hunting,” Police Chief Stanley McFadden said at a news conference on Saturday.

Brownlee will appear in court on Tuesday, according to KCRA.

Authorities said they received hundreds of tips after announcing the manhunt earlier this month.

The first fatal shooting was in Oakland in April 2021. A few days later in Stockton, a woman was wounded. Five more killings happened over a year later in Stockton between July 8 and Sept. 27, all within a radius of a few square miles, police told The Associated Press.

>> Read more trending news

Police in California had recently linked two additional shootings on Oct. 3 to a suspected serial killer. Stockton police officials said that two April 2021 shootings, including a fatal one in Oakland, were linked to the case. The additions brought the total number of homicides to six.

All seven cases have been linked to one another through ballistics or through video surveillance footage.

April 10, 2021 - Oakland Shooting

Officers responded around 4:18 a.m. to gunshots in the 5700 block of Harmon Avenue. The notification came through the city’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection system.

When they arrived, they found a Hispanic man suffering from gunshot wounds, authorities said. The man died at the scene.

The Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau later identified that victim as Juan Miguel Vasquez Serrano, 39, of Oakland.

April 16, 2021 - Stockton Shooting

In the second incident six days later, a 46-year-old Black woman was at Park Street and Union Street in Stockton around 3:20 a.m. when she was shot multiple times. The woman, whose name has not been released, survived the shooting.

KRON reported that the surviving victim gave police a description of the gunman, who she said was about 6 feet tall and wore dark clothing.

The unidentified woman told police she was inside her tent when she heard footsteps outside. She opened the tent flap to look outside and the gunman opened fire, the news station reported.

The man never spoke to the victim, Stockton police Chief Stanley McFadden told the station.

“There were no words mentioned at all,” the chief said.

2022 - Five additional Stockton shootings

Stockton police officials announced early this month that they were investigating a series of at least five murders since July that appear to be the work of the same killer or killers. Those victims were identified as Paul Alexander Yaw, 35; Salvador Debudey Jr., 43; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21; Juan Cruz, 52; and Lawrence Lopez Sr., 54.

Photo of a person of interest

Authorities released a grainy surveillance photo in October of a person of interest in the case. McFadden emphasized at a news conference, however, that it is unknown how the person is connected to the case.

McFadden said each killing happened after dark, either late at night or early in the morning. Each involved a single victim who was alone, and each victim was ambushed, according to NBC News.

“It wasn’t a robbery,” McFadden said. “Items aren’t being stolen. They’re not talking about any gang activity in the area or anything. It’s just element of surprise.”

Aside from Yaw, all the male Stockton victims have been Hispanic. Several of the victims were also homeless.

Authorities have said that they have no evidence that the murders were hate crimes, but Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln II expressed worry that the Hispanic community is being targeted.

“The Hispanic community is the largest population in the city,” Lincoln said, according to KRON. “Well over 42 percent. It’s very concerning.”

Crystal Bonvillian contributed to this report.

©2022 Cox Media Group