Hide Article Text (OCR)
Continued from Al “People say they are tired of all the violence that’s happening and they want to protect themselves,” he said as a couple walked in to ask about buying a handgun. Unlike the Hillside Strangler case, in which the bodies of 10 young women were found strewn on slopes, the killer stalking the San Gabriel Valley has not been given an official nickname by police. Local news media, however, have used a variety of labels, including Night Stalker, Valley Invader, Val ley Intruder and Walk-In Murderer. The man is described as Anglo or Hispanic, at least 6 feet tall, 25 to 30 years old with brown curly hair. Witnesses say he has stained teeth that are widely gapped. The attacks linked to him have occurred mostly in the San Gabriel Valley, but have spread fear through the San Fernando Valley to the northwest of downtown Los An geles. A sleeping couple were shot in the head by an intruder last week in Northridge in the San Fernando Valley and survived. Police there say the number of crime reports jumped by more than 600 last week, many proving to be false sightings of prowlers. Reflecting police warnings about the killer’s method of choosing resi dences with unlocked doors and windows and poor lighting, hard ware stores in the San Gabriel Valley reported brisk sales of sli ding door and window locks instead of traditional front door locks and dead-bolts. ‘I had to place a double order on window locks,” said Manuel Ortiz, hardware department manager for Builders Emporium in Montebello. The store serves the bedroom city of Monterey Park where police be lieve two people may have been killed by the suspect in May and July. ‘Since the killings, we've sold about 50 percent more of the win dow and sliding door locks,’’ Ortiz said. A clerk for the Village Locksmith outlet next door to the Corner Gun smith bemoaned the sluggish sales of dead-bolt door locks. ‘‘They’d rather shoot him (the killer) than lock him out, I suppose,’’ said the clerk, who declined to identify her self. Gun store manager Moore said customers are buying weapons priced from $80 to $350. “They're buying rifles and shotguns because there is no 15-day waiting require ment to take them home like there is on handguns,” he said. Moore said the store also has sold a limited number of non-lethal elec tric ‘‘stun guns’’ to people he de scribed as ‘‘wanting to protect themselves without having to kill someone.” Deputies are pleased that the killing spree has motivated people to increase home security, but are concerned about the rise in firearm sales.
Newspaper Details
Bakersfield Californian
Bakersfield, California, US
Thu, Aug 15, 1985
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 23 Sep 2026
Other Publications Near Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield Californian
Bakersfield Morning Echo
The Daily Californian
Daily Californian
Kern County Californian
