October 15, 2022
STOCKTON, CA—Authorities said on Saturday a male suspect believed to be responsible for the recent serial killings of six people has been arrested.
Stockton police chief Stanley McFadden, city manager Harry Black, and Mayor Kevin Lincoln made the announcement in a joint press conference regarding the investigation and subsequent arrest.
Wesley Brownlee, 43, of Stockton, was arrested around 2 a.m. Saturday, according to Chief McFadden.
“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,” McFadden stated.
Brownlee was stopped as officers made contact with him. He was wearing dark clothing and had a mask around his neck. He was also armed with a pistol when he was taken into custody.
The 43-year-old suspected serial killer seemed to be “on a mission” throughout the fatal shooting of six men and the wounding of one woman dating back to 2021.
The first reported fatal shooting occurred in Oakland in April 2021. A woman was wounded in Stockton days later. Then, nearly a year passed, and five more killings were reported in Stockton between July 8 and September 27, all within a radius of a few square miles.
#BREAKING: #Stockton police arrest a man in serial killer case. He is suspected in 6 homicides, including 1 in #Oakland and 1 non-fatal shooting, from April 2021 through September 2022.@abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/kbpmgAzCjE
— Anser Hassan (@AnserHassan) October 15, 2022
According to police, all the victims were alone and the killings happened at night or in the early morning.
“What we seem to have in common is probably complexion — it has been folks that are different races, but they have a similar complexion,” the chief continued. “The location, the environments have been consistent: It’s very dark locations, it’s locations where there’s not very many witnesses around.”
“This is a person that lurks in the shadows,” McFadden added. “Our victims are being caught by surprise.”
Brownlee will be arraigned on Tuesday, October 18 at 1:30 p.m.
Feature Images via Stockton Police Department