AZUSA, California – Neighbors of the 81-year-old man accused of being a “serial slingshot shooter” who terrorized his neighborhood for a decade by allegedly shooting ball bearings through windows and windshields expressed shock at his arrest, a day before his sudden arrest. death Wednesday.
Prince King, who lived in Azusa, California, died of heart disease at a private home, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said on its website Thursday.
King’s neighbors in Azusa, a small town about 26 miles east of Los Angeles at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, were surprised that the old man they knew as “Wick” had been arrested.
“He’s always nice,” Veronica Jonasson, who lived next door to King, said in an interview with NBC News.
Jonasson said she works from home and King often says “break time!” mentioned. and come by to chat. She said he would bring treats for her dog and they never had any problems.
“I’m honestly surprised,” Jonasson said. “I never thought he would terrorize the neighborhood like this.”
Jonasson said she and her sister-in-law named King “Gran Torino” because, like the character Clint Eastwood played in the 2008 film, he had white hair, was widowed many years ago and lived alone.
King was arrested May 23, capping a long-running quality-of-life investigation by Azusa police into a spate of vandalism on North Enid Avenue. No one was injured, but police efforts were stymied for years.
“It’s been going on for many years because we just couldn’t identify who the suspect was,” Azusa police Lt. Jake Bushey said after King was arrested, according to The Orange County Register.
A search of King’s two-bedroom home led to the discovery of a slingshot and ball bearings, resulting in King’s arrest.
According to court records, King was charged with seven counts of vandalism, five of which were misdemeanor vandalism, and two counts of misdemeanor assault. Records show he was released from the Los Angeles County Jail without bail on Tuesday and was scheduled to appear in court on June 17.
Bushey said King did not pick his targets at random. But they still don’t know why he would have attacked his neighbors.
“We are not aware of any motive other than just malicious mischief,” Bushey said.
Court records show that King was taken to court by a woman in 2017 to settle a property dispute following the death of King’s father. The woman and King were named as joint tenants and an agreement was reached in which King paid the woman for her interest, records show. Neither the woman nor her attorney called NBC News for comment.
Jonasson said she didn’t remember ever seeing King with a slingshot, but she did see him with a BB gun on his porch once.
“I asked him once, ‘What are you shooting at?’ He told me they were coyotes,” she said.
It’s not a far-fetched statement. Coyotes are not uncommon in Azusa, population about 50,000, which calls itself “The Canyon City” because of its location at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains.
But after King’s arrest, his neighbors have pored over Azusa police’s Instagram and Facebook posts and wondered if he was responsible for damaging their windshields and windows.
“Most of us didn’t believe it was him, even when they arrested him,” said Chris, a neighbor who declined to give his last name.
“Even now it’s still getting used to it,” he said. “We still think, ‘No, maybe it was something else.’ Most of us are neighbors.”
Still, Chris said he had windows blown out and sometimes heard something being smashed after he got home from work. He remembered seeing a camera in King’s garage that seemed to be pointing directly at his house.
Other neighbors said they regularly found BBs on the ground and in their driveway.
“Many times I would come out and find little BBs on the ground near my front door, so I’m very happy that the person was apprehended,” resident Monica Palomino told NBC Los Angeles after the arrest was announced.
Attempts to reach King’s relatives who could speak on his behalf were unsuccessful.
King was ordered by the court to stay 200 yards away from several locations in Azusa, including the 900 block of North Enid Avenue where he lived, according to court records.
According to a criminal complaint, King was accused of breaking windows at six homes, as well as a car windshield and a garage window.
He pleaded not guilty and denied all charges during a court hearing on Tuesday, records show. His public defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Blue tape with the name of the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office sealed the doors of his home Wednesday.
Before he died, someone had placed a sign in his yard that read, “Stay Away Wick!”
Chris said he can’t fathom why King would target his neighbors.
“That’s the point,” he said. “There was no clear clear moment or atmosphere like he had it for us.”
Phil Helsel reported from Azusa, California and Corky Siemaszko from New York City.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
