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It had been happening for a decade. Residents of North Enid Avenue in Azusa, Calif., would find a broken window in their house or car and a telltale ball bearing nearby. Neighbors reported hundreds of dollars of damage.
Sometimes, more alarmingly, a pellet would whiz by someone outside, nearly striking them. It was, to say the least, “a quality-of-life issue,” as the police put it.
It turns out the mayhem was the work of a “serial slingshot shooter,” according to the police. And now, they say, they have finally captured him. He is 81 years old.
The suspect, Prince Raymond King, was arrested Thursday morning. A slingshot and ball bearings were found on his property, which is on the block where the crimes were carried out, the police said.
Neighbors were well aware of the problem. One showed the local TV station KABC TV two plastic bags of pellets collected from a yard over the years.
“Many times I came outside, and I would find little BBs by the front door, so I’m very glad the person was caught,” another neighbor, Monica Palomino, told KNBC. Another neighbor, Dava Juan, told KCAL that she had seen Mr. King using a slingshot.
“We’re not aware of any kind of motive other than just malicious mischief,” Lt. Jake Bushey of the Azusa Police Department told The San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
Efforts to reach Mr. King or a lawyer for him were unsuccessful. Mr. King appeared in Citrus Municipal Court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. He was ordered to stay away from his neighborhood after collecting things from his home and was told not to contact any of the victims, local news media reported.
He was released without bail and told to return to court on June 17.
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