We know California has been a serial killer’s paradise since the 1970’s. More serial killers hunted in the state than all the others combined. While others may have racked up higher body counts, (think Ridgway and Dahmer) we seem to have lived with more than our share. The Sacramento region attracts the most with 15% of the nation’s serial killers having some tie to the area. We’ve talked about that strange but true fact here before.

And it seems we have a new serial killer hunting in the region.

Stockton, California is a small city, less than fifty miles south of Sacramento. It’s a place with historically high crime rates, poverty, gang issues, and murder hasn’t been an unusual thing in the city. This year’s 43 homicides exceeded the body county from last year and only a dozen murders were attributed to gang violence. So where were these new murders coming from?

It seems like we have an answer for at least six of them. It wasn’t until local law enforcement dug into the crimes that they saw a pattern emerge. Five men were shot and killed while they were out alone at night. Stockton authorities are guarded on how much information they release, but forensic evidence from the victims and crime scenes revealed all of them were killed with the same gun.

This kind of forensic analysis (shell casing or the bullets themselves) has advanced in the last decade and allowed these victims to eventually show their connection to the same firearm.

It seems like we have an answer for at least six of them. It wasn’t until local law enforcement dug into the crimes that they saw a pattern emerge. Five men were shot and killed while they were out alone at night. Stockton authorities are guarded on how much information they release, but forensic evidence from the victims and crime scenes revealed all of them were killed with the same gun.

First Reported Cases:

On July 8, 2022 at 12:31 a.m., a 35-year-old man, Paul Yaw, was fatally shot.

On Aug. 11 at 9:49 p.m., a 43-year-old man, Salvador Debudey Jr., was shot and killed.

The next victim was 21-year-old Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, who was fatally shot at 6:41 a.m. on Aug. 30 in Stockton.

A 52-year-old man, Juan Cruz, was fatally shot in Stockton at 4:27 a.m. on September 21st.

The most recent victim was 54-year-old Lawrence Lopez Sr., who was was fatally shot at 1:53 a.m. on Sept. 27, according to police spokesmen.

The victims were killed at night or early morning hours. They were walking alone in isolated parts of town and none of them were robbed. Their personal possessions, wallets, watches, and cash were untouched. Police weren’t able to make the connection between the victims until September 30th, when forensic analysis showed the same firearm was used in these murders. Stockton had a serial killer on the loose.

Adding to the complexity of the investigation, the forensic evidence also matched two other shootings which had grown cold.

A year earlier, on April 10, 2021, at 4:18 a.m. a 40-year-old man was shot and killed in Oakland, California. Stockton police confirmed he was killed with the same firearm used in the recent Stockton murders.

Days later, on April 16, 2021, at 3:20 a.m., a 46-year-old homeless woman was shot in Stockton. However, she survived the shooting and told officers she was in her tent when she heard someone outside. She was confronted by a man with a gun who shot her multiple times. The victim reports the shooter was dressed in a black hoodie, wore a black COVID mask, and never said a word.

Authorities now confirm seven shootings and six murders attributed to this killer. Few details have been made public. A video of a man seen near one of the crimes had been released. It doesn’t offer much to identify the killer.

A reward tip line is up and running asking for any information people may have about this series of murders in the city.

Stockton Police have no motive for these killings and in a recent press briefing, Chief McFadden claimed, “Everyone is at risk.”

Some believed that serial killers were a thing of the past, an artifact of the 70’s and 80’s. They are still out there and thanks to advances in investigative technology, this one was uncovered. I’ll provide updates as new information becomes available.

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