- Senior thrown in jail after police found weapons during raid on his home in Azusa
- Dozens of victims were targeted during the nine-year hunt for the perpetrator
- “We are not aware of any motive other than pure malicious mischief,” the officer said
A decade-long hunt for the gangster who terrorized a quiet LA neighborhood with his slingshot has ended with the arrest of an 81-year-old man after a police raid on his home.
Prince Raymond King was found with a slingshot and ball bearings on Thursday when police conducted a search of his $640,000 home on Azusa’s leafy West Crescent Drive.
Dozens of his neighbors had found their cars, windows and property targeted by a man police called a “serial slingshot shooter.”
“We are not aware of any motive other than malicious mischief,” said Lt. Jake Bushey of the Azusa Police Department.
“It’s been going on for years because we just couldn’t identify who the suspect was.”
Prince King, 81, was taken from LA Central Jail to Citrus Municipal Court on Tuesday to face misdemeanor and misdemeanor vandalism charges
Residents plagued by a catapult for a decade in the leafy LA suburb of Azusa were shocked to see police raid their elderly neighbor’s home
Police began an investigation after the first report in 2015.
Some victims found BB-sized holes in their property and others had entire windows shattered.
Neighbors who had given up hope of an end to the torment were delighted to see the police’s Directed Enforcement Unit raid the elderly man’s home.
“I’ve seen him shoot the slingshot before,” someone said NBC News.
“He’s never shot at us or anything, except a lot of the neighbors. I couldn’t believe he got arrested yesterday by a SWAT team and stuff, it was pretty crazy.”
“Many times I would come out and find little BBs on the floor by my front door,” said another, “so I’m very glad the person was caught.”
Azusa police did not reveal how many ball bearings had been recovered when they raised the “quality of life issue” with a post on Facebook.
But they said most of the shots were fired from King’s garage and another location nearby.
“DEU conducted a lengthy investigation and found that over the course of nine to 10 years, dozens of civilians fell victim to a serial slingshot shooter,” they wrote.
“The unknown suspect broke windows, windshields and almost stabbed people with ball bearings.
“Today, DEU investigators served a search warrant in the area where the incidents occurred.
‘Finally, the suspected Prince-King of Azusa was arrested. During the search, ball bearings and a slingshot were found in his home.’
Dozens of potentially deadly ball bearings were recovered during the raid on his home
Residents told NBC they had suspected for years who was threatening their neighborhood
Some feared they had fallen victim to the decade-long wave of attacks
Police said the attacks mainly came from the garage of King’s home
“They broke the back window of my husband’s car, probably the same man,” Lupe Lopez wrote in response to the police Facebook post.
“His dirty hobby cost us $700!”
King was taken from Los Angeles Central Jail to Citrus Municipal Court on Tuesday, where he was charged with criminal trespass and vandalism.
He was released on his own recognizance, but was prohibited from going within 200 meters of his own home except to collect medicine, and is prohibited from possessing weapons, including slingshots.
He is due back in court on June 17 for a preliminary hearing.
