SPOTTED

Two More Shootings Connected to Suspected California Serial Killer

Stockton police do not believe the seven attacks are hate crimes or gang related activity.

Two more shootings, one of them fatal, are believed to be the work of a suspected serial killer in Stockton, California, police announced on Monday. The incidents occurred days apart in April 2021, long before the other five slayings that police have linked to the potential serial killer using ballistic tests. Those murders include Paul Yaw on July 8, Salvador Debudey Jr. on Aug. 11, Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez on Aug. 30, Juan Cruz on Sept. 21, and Lawrence Lopez Sr. on Sept. 27. Police say that none of the victims—who, with the exception of Yaw, were all Hispanic men ranging in age from 21 to 54—were robbed or beaten prior to their deaths, though all of them were caught alone in the late hours of the night, according to Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden. The 2021 deaths include a 40-year-old unidentified Hispanic man who was shot and killed on April 10 in Oakland, and an unidentified Black woman who was shot around 3 a.m. on April 16 but survived the attack. “It definitely meets the definition of a serial killer,” said Stockton Police Officer Joseph Silva. Police were able to obtain a photo of the suspect by scrubbing through hundreds of hours of video surveillance footage. Stockton officials, who don’t believe the incidents are gang-related or hate crimes, are asking residents to check their doorbells and security cameras for potential evidence.