Sam Amico
A serial killer who terrorized Stockton, Calif., from April 2021 until September 2022 used a ghost gun to murder his victims, authorities said.
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Wesley Brownlee, 43, was captured after police followed his vehicle, via surveillance, and pulled him over, without incident. Police said he was on his way to find another victim at the time.
Brownlee was charged with three counts of murder, though he is believed to have killed at least six people. So more charges could be on the way.
“Throughout the surveillance, he was lurking around parks. He was lurking around in dark areas, just different areas that might have proved to be an area for him to kill. Once we knew he encountered an area where there was someone that was vulnerable and alone and in a dark place, that’s when we acted,” Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said, via KCRA.
Wesley Brownlee
Along with that, Brownlee is accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He has also been linked to a murder in Oakland, more than an hour’s drive from Stockton.
Police received a number of tips from the general public that led them to Brownlee, seemingly in the nick of time.
“Our surveillance team followed this person while he was driving. We watched his patterns and determined he was on a mission to kill. He was out hunting,” McFadden said.
Ghost guns have no serial numbers and are untraceable. Most can be purchased online via “ghost gun kits” and then assembled at home. This is believed to be the first serial murder case to involve such a gun.
Brownlee was a truck driver professionally, and prior to his arrest for the multiple murders, has a criminal history in California and Arizona connected to past drug and traffic violations, as well as a DUI.
