Baton Rouge police took a man into custody who is suspected to have recently executed at least two Black men and fired on a Black family in what appear to be racially motivated attacks, on Tuesday, September 19.
Kenneth James Gleason was arrested this past weekend for a drug-related offense and was able to bail out on Sunday night. Apart from the charges he was taken in for, the discovery of a copy of a Hilter speech in his home sparked suspicion that the 23-year-old may have information about a bullet-riddled home occupied by a Black family in his neighborhood. However authorities lacked enough evidence to proceed beyond considering him a person of interest at the time, and thus he was free to go.
Gleason, who has a record as a petty thief, would be snagged once more when he was caught stealing a copy of "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy," and it was during his second detainment that investigators were able to match his DNA with that found on the casings of bullet shells from two shootings that took place last week. It was announced on Tuesday that he has been charged with first-degree murder in both cases.
The first killing dates back to September 12, when a homeless man (59-year-old Bruce Cofield) was found gunned down in the city. Two nights later a 49-year-old man by the name of Donald Smart was shot to death while on his way to work at a cafe near Louisiana State University. Police believe Gleason fired from his vehicle and then got out and approached the men to let off additional shots, in each instance.
The local Baton Rouge Police Chief, Jonny Dunnam told the press that he is "confident that this killer would have killed again," had he not been captured. When asked whether the shootings appear to have been race-hate crimes, a sergeant in the department, L'Jean McKneely said, "We're not completely closed off to that. We're looking at all possibilities at this time, so we're not going to just pinpoint that."
