The police have arrested Bruce Paddock, the brother of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock, on suspicion of child pornography. 58-year old Bruce was arrested on Wednesday, October 25, in Los Angeles. He was taken into custody at a nursing home located on the Laurel Canyon Boulevard’s 5300 block in the Valley Village area. Paddock was booked by the law enforcement officials at 8 AM.
Television footage showed officers from the L.A. Police Department or LAPD loading Paddock into the back of the police van in a wheelchair. The court documents filed by the police at the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, October 24, showed 20 criminal charges made against Bruce.
Incidentally, all charges were related either to sexual abuse of children or child pornography.
What did the police find?
LA Times reported that in the felony complaint, Bruce is accused of possessing at least 600 pornographic images of youth or children. Furthermore, officials state that out of his entire collection, 10 or more images display a child clearly younger than 12. In a press release, the LAPD revealed that the investigation against the accused started when authorities found evidence of child pornography at a business located in Sun Valley. Apparently, Paddock - who is homeless - was squatting in that property.
Unfortunately for him, the law enforcement officials discovered evidence after Paddock was driven out of the place.
Considering Bruce was homeless at the time, it took a while for the cops to locate and arrest him. However, the LAPD “recently” tracked him down at a North Hollywood property, from where he was arrested on October 25. It is unclear whether Paddock has an attorney or has been appointed one to represent him. However, the police have set a bond of $60,000 for his bail.
Bruce Paddock case not related to Las Vegas shooting, say police
According to court records, Paddock apparently has a long history of criminal records, which include vandalism among other charges. Apart from the current accusation of possessing child pornography, a restraining order was also issued against him for threatening to murder a friend and leaving him stranded in the desert.
According to the latest accusations against Paddock, the 58-year-old is charged with the felony of downloading child porn on not only his PC but also the computers at the auto shop where he was squatting. However, LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein clarified that Paddock’s case was not related to that of his brother’s. He was arrested on the basis of an independent investigation that started long before the horrific shooting took place.
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