Suspected Stockton serial killer Wesley Brownlee arrested ‘out hunting’ for victims

STOCKTON — A man suspected of killing six men and wounding a woman in Northern California was arrested before dawn Saturday as he was apparently searching for another victim

At a press conference on Saturday, Stockton City Manager Harry Black announced the arrest and Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden identified the suspect as 43-year-old Wesley Brownlee of Stockton. 

McFadden said the arrest was made around 2 a.m. Saturday

Police received tips from the public that led them to Brownlee’s home, and after observing Brownlee driving away from his residence, police moved in and arrested him in the area of Village Green Drive and Winslow Way. 

When police pulled Brownlee over, he was allegedly dressed in black and had a black mask around his neck. He also had a firearm in possession, McFadden said. 

McFadden believes Brownlee was looking for his next victim.

He was “out hunting…we are sure we stopped another killing,” the police chief said.

Brownlee is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. A press conference will follow the hearing to announce charges. 

Police had been searching for a man clad in black who was caught on video at several of the crime scenes in Stockton, where five men were ambushed and shot to death between July 8 and Sept. 27. Four were walking, and one was in a parked car.

Police believe the same person was responsible for killing a man 70 miles away in Oakland in April 2021 and wounding a homeless woman in Stockton a week later.

Investigators have said ballistics tests and video evidence linked the crimes.

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

No suspected motive for the attacks was given, but McFadden said the killer appeared to be “on a mission.” Police said some victims were homeless, but not all. None were beaten or robbed, and the woman who survived said her attacker didn’t say anything.

The FBI and various police agencies, including in Chicago, helped in the investigation, McFadden said.