An article in Newsweek 90 from October of 2022, talks about the most notorious serial killers in American history. They are listed as follows: John Wayne Gacy – The clown killer, Dennis Rader – the BTK killer, Sam Little – Most prolific serial killer in American history, Jeffrey Dahmer – the Milwaukee Cannibal, David Berkowitz – son of Sam, Richard Cottingham – the torso killer, Belle Gunness – Hell’s Belle, Dean Corll – Candy Man and last per the article was Gary Ridgway – The Green River killer. This article really surprised me as there was a woman listed as a serial killer, which I understand is unusual. Now with all this being said, the reason this one is called “A serial Killer in California” is because of an article I came across concerning some killings in Stockton, California. According to other articles, the suspect has been arrested. There were a total of 8 victims, one which survived. The first fatal shooting was on April 10, 2021. It was a 39 year old Hispanic male named Miguel Vasquez in East Oakland. The second was a 39 year old black man named Mervin Harmon and was shot on April 16, 2021 in Alameda County. The third victim in 2021 was a 46 year old black woman living at an encampment at Park and Union streets. She rushed the man in an attempt to save herself but was shot several times and she survived miraculously. Her name was Natasha LaTour and it happened at 3:20am on April 16, 2021 as well. She was able to provide a small description of the shooter, described as a man who wore dark clothing and a face mask. That was not a lot to go on. From April 16, 2021 until July 8, 2022, there were no shootings. However, on July 8, 2022 Paul Yaw was a 35 year-old Caucasian man and was shot to death around 12:31 am on Kermit lane. The next victim was Salvador Debudey Jr, a 43 year old Hispanic man, was fatally shot on the West Lane, on August 11, 2022 at 9:50am. Another Hispanic man was fatally shot on August 30, 2022 at 6:41am on Hammer Lane. His name was Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez and he was 21 years old. The last victim was on September 27, 2022. Lawrence Lopez Sr, a 54-year old Hispanic man was fatally shot on Porter Avenue at 1:53am. This was the final victim. These shootings took place over a 17 month span and have been linked together by ballistic tests. The police however, have not revealed if the same weapon was used in all the shootings. In all cases, the victims were out by themselves in the early morning or late night hours, in poor lite areas. A tipline was set up and a reward of $125,000 was issued for information leading up to an arrest. On October 15, 2022, in the early morning hours, police arrested a Stockton man in connection with the shootings. He was arrested at Winslow Way and Village Green drive with a firearm in his possession and wearing dark colored clothing and a mask around his neck. His name was Wesley Brownlee. He was born in San Francisco but grew up in Oakland. Brownlee’s arrest records date back to 1997 for sexual assault of a 14 year old girl. He served time in San Quentin in 1997 at the age of 18 for selling cocaine to undercover cop which violated his probation. In 2014 he was convicted of selling narcotics and sentenced to jail time and probation. Brownlee didn’t rob his victims, steal credit cards or vehicles. He was focused on killing and afterwards appeared calm and confident. The murders were intentional. Brownlee is facing 7 counts of murder and 1 count of attempted murder. Support the show and receive full notes.
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