Stockton police continue search for apparent serial killer tied to 6 murders, release video
Police in Stockton, California, released a video Tuesday of a person of interest believed to be connected to six unprovoked murders of men ages 21 to 54 over the last few months.
Authorities are searching for a person of interest tied to the six slayings. All of the victims were men and all were alone at the time they were fatally shot, police said. The killings all happened at night or in the early morning hours.
During a press conference Tuesday, Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said a motive for the shootings hasn't been determined yet but believes they have been intentional.
"I'd say everyone is at risk," McFadden said.
Police released only a few details about the string of murders and when they happened: a 35-year-old man fatally shot at 12:31 a.m. on July 8; a 43-year-old man fatally shot at 9:49 p.m. on Aug. 11; a 21-year-old man fatally shot at 6:41 a.m. on Aug. 30; a 52-year-old man fatally shot at 4:27 a.m. on Sept. 21; and a 54-year-old man fatally shot at 1:53 a.m. on Sept. 27.
Police said late Monday that another homicide investigation had been linked to the case: The shooting death of a 40-year-old Hispanic man in Oakland, Calif., at 4:18 a.m. on April 10, 2021.
Another shooting, of a 46-year-old Black woman at Park Street and Union Street in Stockton at 3:20 a.m. on April 16, 2021, was also linked to the investigation, police said. The woman survived her injuries in that shooting, they said.
Stockton police told ABC News that all of the victims were ambushed, none were robbed and none of the incidents were drug- or gang-related. Police said that ballistic evidence links the crime scenes together.
The surviving victim described the shooter as being between 5 feet, 10 inches and 6 feet tall, wearing all dark clothing, a COVID-19-style mask and a dark jacket, police said Tuesday. The woman said the shooter did not say anything to her at the time of the incident.
On Monday, San Joaquin County's Office of the Medical Examiner identified the victims. Paul Yaw, 35, was killed on July 8; Salvador Debudey Jr., 43, died on Aug. 11; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21, was killed on Aug. 30; Juan Cruz, 52, was the Sept. 21 victim; and Lawrence Lopez Sr., 54, was slain on Sept. 27.
Lorenzo Lopez "was just a person who was out here at the wrong place at the wrong time at the wrong circumstance," his brother Jerry Lopez told ABC Sacramento affiliate 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."
Paul Yaw "was a good boy who grew into a good man with a big heart. He will always live on in our hearts. He was always there for you if you needed him," the family said in a statement to ABC News. "He was a son, brother, father, grandson, nephew and cousin. I still can't believe he's not coming back."
The day after Lopez's killing, Stockton police said they were not sure if the killings were related.
"[We're] still looking at it from a random point of view, but we do see some similarities," Police Chief Stanley McFadden said Wednesday. "We have been provided absolutely zero evidence that leads us to believe that one individual is running rampant in the city of Stockton killing people."
But that changed two days later when the department tied the five killings together and released an image of a person of interest.
The city, Stockton Crime Stoppers and a local business owner have put up a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the investigation. Police anticipate the reward amount to increase, officials said during the press conference Tuesday.
ABC News' Caroline Guthrie, Alyssa Pone, Lisa Sivertsen and Teddy Grant contributed to this report.
