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The suspected Stockton serial killer was formally charged with three murders three days after he was arrested while allegedly hunting for yet another victim.
Wesley Brownlee, 43, was charged with three counts of murder, one count of felony firearm possession, and one count for possession of ammunition on Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
He now faces charges for the murders of Jonathan Rodriguez, 21, Juan Carlos Carranza-Cruz, 52, and Lawrence Lopez, 54. The three men were the final victims in a killing spree that killed five over the summer. In total, Wesley is suspected of committing at least six murders in an 18-month period.
Brownlee was arrested at around 2am on Saturday by police after investigators received several tips about the person behind the attacks. Police found a mask and gun in his car.
Officers watched him drive to parks and dark places, stopping and looking around before driving on – with police saying he was ‘hunting’ for new victims.
Police stopped him in a car in Central Valley city, where five of the six shootings took place and was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities managed to link him to the six deaths by ballistics and praised ‘good old fashioned police work’ after they arrested him.
Law enforcement authorities described Brownlee’s killing spree as a ‘reign of terror’, releasing footage of a man they believed to be the Stockton serial killer earlier this month.
Brownlee is booked at San Joaquin County jail.
Wesley Brownlee, 43, was charged with three counts of murder, one count of felony firearm possession and one count for possession of ammunition on Tuesday. He is suspected of killing a total of six people in the last 18 months
Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21, was found shot and killed inside his vehicle at the apartment complex where he lived on August 30.
Lorenzo Lopez Sr, 54, left, was the killer’s final known victim and died on September 27
Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said on Saturday: ‘Early this morning he was on a mission to kill, he was out hunting.
‘He was wearing dark clothing and had a mask around his neck. He was also armed with a firearm when he was taken into custody. We are sure we stopped another killing.
‘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.’
On Tuesday, Wesley’s only known survivor described how he silently crept up on her before opening fire.
Natasha LaTour, 46, was shot multiple times by Wesley Brownlee at a train station at 3.20am on April 16, 2021.
LaTour is the only person who has survived an attack from Brownlee, who she says wore dark clothing and said nothing before he shot her nine times.
She had been standing close to the railway tracks when Brownlee launched his unprovoked attack, spotting a gun pointed at her.
Speaking to ABC she said: ‘There were no words exchanged. Didn’t come any closer. Didn’t say anything. Just started shooting. I saw, I saw flashes.
‘I was on the side and then a man came around the corner. They already had the gun out, and they just started shooting. I ran towards him knowing I’d have to get closer to the street if I wanted to survive.
‘There’s a burning that’s incredible. You’re wet all over and you don’t know why you’re wet, and I was really glad my legs moved but every time I moved my legs I got wetter, and I thought I was dying.
‘I heard a car come by me and then I heard a door open or close and I could tell they went down a distance and then I heard a man say, ‘I’m here, we’re calling 911 for you don’t worry.’
The pistol Brownlee was carrying when he was arrested Saturday. Police say Brownlee was out hunting for a new victim when he was apprehended early Saturday
Natasha LaTour, 46, was homeless at the time she was shot by the alleged serial killer in Stockton. She survived despite being shot close to a dozen times
Paul Alexander Yaw, 35, was killed on July 8th in a park close to his home, with his family paying tribute to him as a ‘wonderful father’
Lorenzo Lopez Sr, 54, left, was the killer’s final known victim and died on September 27. Salvador William Dubedy Jr. right, died on August 11
Juan Miguel Vazquez, 39, was killed in East Oakland and was homeless at the time of his murder on April 21
LaTour had been homeless at the time of the shooting, like many of Brownlee’s other victims, and knew that he was the man who shot her as soon as police released footage of a man they were hunting in connection with the series of slayings.
Brownlee, who has a criminal history, killed Juan Miguel Vasquez Serrano, 39, on April 21, 2021, in East Oakland just days after attacking LaTour. Serrano was also homeless at the time of his murder. He left behind three daughters between the ages of 10 to 17.
Serrano was shot nearby the neighborhood where Brownlee grew up in Oakland., according to the East Bay Times. In the same area, the suspects brother and friend were killed in drug related homicides in 1995.
After shooting LaTour and Serrano the attacks stopped for several months, before Paul Yaw was killed on July 8.
Police have linked Brownlee to seven shootings in the Oakland and Stockton area inside of the last 18 months
Stockton Police confirmed to DailyMail.com that they believe the man in surveillance footage they released earlier this month is the same man who arrested Saturday
Yaw, 35, was shot in Holiday Park in Stockton on July 8 at around 12.30am, with his mother paying tribute to him as ‘a sweet boy who grew into a man with a big heart.’
Brownlee then shot four people dead within a two-month period before officers arrested him on Saturday.
Salvador Debudey Jr, 43, died on August 11 after police tried to resuscitate him. He was shot in a parking lot located at the 4900 block of West Lane.
Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21, died on August 30 and was found dead inside of a car outside of his apartment complex and Juan Cruz, 52, died on September 21. Hernandez was one of Brownlee’s youngest victims.
Brownlee’s most recent alleged kill was of Lawrence Lopez Sr, who died on September 27, and was described as being ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ by his brother. Lawrence was shot on a sidewalk located at the 900 block of Porter Avenue.
Most of the people Brownlee killed were homeless and either white or Latino.
Police released a video earlier this month of a suspect dressed in dark colors who walked with an ‘uneven stride’
Jerry Lopez told KXTV: ‘It’s hard to process that this has happened. I mean, me and my brother have been like twins. We were a year a part, so we were pretty close’
Five of the killer’s seven victims have been Hispanic, though it remains unclear if they were targeted because of their race.
None of the victims were robbed or beaten prior to their killings, and none appeared to know one another, while some were living on the streets.
Police say the killings were not gang or drug related, and they have not revealed a motive but say they believe the killer was ‘mission oriented.’
Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln said Saturday following the arrest that members of the community should be able to ‘rest a little bit easier tonight.’
He said: ‘I want to make this very very clear, to the people of Stockton, to the United States and around the world.
‘When the people of Stockton come together, and we unite we can get things done. Stockton will be a place where people can live, raise a family and grow a business.’
Police discovered Brownlee had an extensive criminal history dating back to his misdemeanor DUI in 2019, according to CBS news.
Brownlee was also charged with a felony in 2017 for possession of cocaine. He also received traffic citations in Arizona and Nevada in 2017 and 2019, and two more in 2021 and 2022.
The suspect is also a business owner of an LLC known as Solid Blue Transport in Indiana.
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