Man linked to murder and series of burglaries

Chuck Smith Attorney at Law

A 42-year-old man has been taken into custody in connection with a string of recent burglaries in the Malibu Canyon area of California. He is also suspected of fatally shooting a man in front of his 2 and 4-year-old daughters in Malibu Creek State Park in June. The man is being held on a number of parole violations while investigators build homicide and burglary charges against him according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department representative.

The man was apprehended by deputies searching Malibu and Calabasas for an individual carrying a rifle. The search was initiated after workers at a local community center reported a burglary and gave a brief description of the perpetrator. Deputies say that the man surrendered without firing a shot after a brief but tense standoff. The arrest comes a week after SWAT officers made an exhaustive neighborhood-wide search for a man seen burglarizing an office while carrying a rifle.

Shortly after news of the man’s arrest was released, deputies were seen collecting bags of evidence at a campground near Mullholland Highway. The LACSO warns local residents to remain vigilant until it can be established that the man in custody is responsible for the recent spate of burglaries and violent crimes in the area.

Experienced attorneys may call for a psychiatric evaluation when their clients are accused of committing crimes in ways that suggest they may not be in full control of their mental faculties. This is because criminal suspects in California may mount a diminished capacity defense when they may have lacked the ability to form the intent to commit the crime in question. Attorneys may also seek mental evaluations to ensure that their clients receive the medical treatment they need and do not pose a threat to themselves or others.

Source: ABC Action News, “Man arrested in Southern California, possibly linked to the murder of Fresno native”, Oct. 10, 2018

Criminal defense