Governor Gavin Newsom has spent the last few months struggling with more than just crime as news circulated that there was a serial killer in the city of Stockton. In a short amount of time, six men in the city were killed with police having little evidence or leads. Again, these unprovoked murders come after citizens of California watched crime surge in the state. With violence and looting spreading throughout the cities, Stockton police warned residents to stay home as they searched for the suspect. Thankfully, the Stockton Police Department announced Saturday that they have taken into custody a person they believe to be the man behind the murders.

43-year-old Wesley Brownlee was booked on Saturday on homicide charges. According to police, a surveillance team followed Brownlee as he scouted an area around Village Green Drive and Winslow Avenue. While not unusual, Brownlee was there at 2:00 a.m. Chief Stanley McFadden explained, “Our surveillance team followed this person while he was driving. We watched his patterns and determined early this morning; he was on a mission to kill. He was out hunting. As officers made contact with him, he was wearing dark clothing and a mask around his neck. He was also armed with a firearm when he was taken into custody.”

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The Chief added, “His patterns were consistent with some of the patterns that we have seen. (He was) around parks, around dark places, stopping, looking around, moving again. And at that point, we thought, for the safety of the public, it was best to take this person in.”

As for the victims Brownlee is being accused of murdering, ABC News reported, “The San Joaquin County’s Office of the Medical Examiner identified the victims. Paul Yaw, 35, was killed on July 8; Salvador Debudey Jr., 43, died on Aug. 11; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21, was killed on Aug. 30; Juan Cruz, 52, was the Sept. 21 victim; and Lawrence Lopez Sr., 54, was slain on Sept. 27.”

Making headlines recently, the string of murders in Stockton goes back to April 16, 2021. A black woman recalled to police that she was walking around Union Street at 3:20 a.m. when she was shot at. Surviving her injuries, the incident was linked to the person who killed six men. Although just a suspect, Chief McFadden admitted, “We are sure we stopped another killing.”

Stockton Mayor Kevin J. Lincoln thanked the community for their help and support for the local police. “To the community, thank you for everything that you’ve done. Thank you for stepping up, thank you for exercising your voice, thank you for submitting the hundreds of tips that have come in on a daily basis. This could not have been done, and today would not have been possible without you.”

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This piece was written by Jeremy Porter on October 16, 2022. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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