Stockton serial killer suspect has criminal history, "distressed" over brother's Oakland shooting death
OAKLAND, Calif. - An accused serial killer in Stockton has a criminal history, lost his brother to gun violence in Oakland, and has suffered psychological stress, court records show.
Wesley Brownlee, 43, was arrested Saturday by Stockton police for six deadly shootings, including one in Oakland.
Investigators said Brownlee was found driving around with a gun and mask "on a mission to kill" and "was out hunting" for another victim.
Brownlee was born in San Francisco but grew up in Oakland along Seminary Avenue.
His childhood home was just a few blocks from where Oakland victim Juan Miguel Vazquez Serrano was killed in April 2021.
Court records shed light on Brownlee’s family life and mental state, as first reported by the East Bay Times.
Documents obtained by KTVU show he is one of his mother’s six children with a criminal history that dates back decades.
In May 1994, at age 14, he was accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, along with two other boys. Documents say he denied the allegation and instead accused his friends.
Later that year, records show he was arrested and accused of selling cocaine to an undercover officer. He was put on house arrest as a juvenile.
In October 1995, his older brother Dale Brownlee, 17, was shot and killed along East 16th Street in Oakland.
Court records say Wesley Brownlee became "very distressed over his death" and his mother said he "seems continuously depressed," suggesting he get therapy.
A probation report states he was found to be "mentally slow" and "learning disabled." Documents say in school he had low grades, poor attendance and didn’t finish high school.
In 1997, at age 18, he was arrested and charged for having a large amount of crack cocaine. Brownlee was sentenced to two years in prison.
After he was out, Brownlee continued to live with his mother in Stockton. His parents had split up years earlier, a probation report says.
But in 2014, he was accused again in Alameda County of selling crack cocaine. The drug crime occurred along East 16th Street right near where his brother was killed.
Records show he pleaded no contest and served some jail time before three years probation.
Fast forward to 2021, and the first homicide linked to Brownlee occurred in Oakland along Harmon Avenue. Serrano, 40, was shot and killed on April 10, 2021.
Police have also connected Brownlee to six other shootings that left five men dead in Stockton. A woman from Stockton was wounded and survived.
Suspect arrested in Stockton serial killer case
Wesley Brownlee was arrested by Stockton police and named as a suspect in the serial killings of five men in that Central California city as well as a murder and non-deadly shooting in Oakland. Police said he was "out hunting" another victim when he was apprehended.
Surveillance video of the suspect was released and hundreds of tips came into police.
"The suspect’s reign of terror in our community has come to an end," said San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas.
Brownlee is in the San Joaquin County Jail. He has not yet been charged.
He is expected to be court for an arraignment Tuesday afternoon.
Brooks Jarosz is an investigative reporter for KTVU. Email him at brooks.jarosz@fox.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter @BrooksKTVU