Man arrested in connection with Stockton serial killings charged with murder in 3 shootings

A Stockton man police and prosecutors allege carried out six homicides in Stockton and Oakland over about 18 months was formally charged on Tuesday with murder in three of the homicides.

Wesley Brownlee, 43, was charged three times with murder, intentional discharge of a firearm, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and special circumstance of multiple murders.

Those charges are connected with the deaths of:

• Aug. 30: Jonathan Rodriguez Hernandez.

• Sept. 21: Juan Carlos Carranza-Cruz.

• Sept. 27: Lawrence Lopez.

Brownlee also was charged with felon or addict in possession of a firearm and felon in possession of ammunition stemming from a prior felony conviction for having cocaine base.

Prosecutors allege that Brownlee shot and killed five men in Stockton and one man in Oakland starting last year.

Brownlee's arraignment in San Joaquin County Superior Court Tuesday afternoon was the first time he has faced charges publicly after being arrested in Stockton early Saturday morning and being held without bail.

Public defender Allison Nobert was appointed as Brownlee's attorney and no bail was set, a court spokesperson said.

Seven shootings, six homicides

Investigators believe Brownlee recently moved to Stockton, where he has a few relatives, from the Oakland area, San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar said, and that he has worked as a truck driver.

A company called Solid Blue Transport LLC with a Stockton address is registered in Indiana to a Wesley Brownlee, Indiana business filings show.

The series of killings authorities attribute to Brownlee began in Oakland in April 2021, when Juan Vazquez Serrano was shot and killed in the city's Seminary neighborhood.

Six days later, a woman was shot multiple times in downtown Stockton. Then, beginning July 8, 2022, five men were fatally shot in an area of north Stockton extending north of the Calaveras River and east of 1-5. Stockton police have said ballistics testing showed the seven shootings were carried out using the same weapon.

At about 2 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, law enforcement officers arrested Brownlee near Panella Park in north Stockton while he was driving, Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said. Investigators had surveilled Brownlee's address before he departed, he said.

The defendant's behavior leading up to the arrest suggested he could be planning a homicide, McFadden said, but he did not explain how.

The evidence

Scant evidence in the investigation of the killings has been made public. Investigators "can confirm with high confidence" the same gun was used in the three murders charged today, San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar said in a news conference after the arraignment.

Whether they were carried out using a gun Brownlee had in his possession when arrested is under investigation, McFadden said.

Prosecutors aim to bring additional charges based on the other shootings not addressed in today's proceedings, Verber Salazar said.

"There's additional evidence that we've been able to ascertain … We believe it will allow us to move forward on the remaining counts, we're just waiting for that information to be fully processed," Verber Salazar said. Prosecutors are also examining whether hate crime charges should be added, the DA said. Five of the seven victims have been Latino.

"In no way does our charging decision today end or conclude our investigation," Verber Salazar said. "We have more work to do."

On Oct. 4, police released security camera footage of a person of interest investigators believe is Brownlee, police spokesman officer Joseph Silva said.

Asked whether Brownlee knew any of the victims, the DA said, "we’re not going to go into that kind of detail today."

Silva said Monday he could not comment on whether other suspects had been investigated. "We're still asking people to call in with tips," he said.

Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers public safety. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow. 

This article originally appeared on The Record: Man arrested after Stockton serial killings charged with 3 murders