Vegas Shooter’s Brother Arrested For Child Porn
Bruce Paddock, brother of Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas mass murderer, was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography. Authorities recovered hundreds of pornographic images of children, some under the age of 12. Bruce Paddock was allegedly squatting at a business in Sun Valley, California where the images were discovered. Paddock was not present at the building where the images were found, and was arrested at a nursing home in Los Angeles county.
Bruce Paddock has a criminal history with charges ranging from vandalism to assault. There was also a charge of “annoying a child” under the age of 18, but was acquitted.
Authorities have stated that Bruce Paddock and his arrest have no connection to the Las Vegas massacre.
The arrest of Stephen Paddock’s brother adds an additional layer of mystery to an already nightmarish criminal investigation. There are many unanswered questions about the shooting in Las Vegas, and while authorities have stated Bruce Paddock is not a suspect, people will not be able to help themselves from asking additional questions and trying to make a link between the murderer and his brother who is now under investigation for child pornography.
A brother of Las Vegas mass shooter Stephen Paddock was arrested in Los Angeles on Wednesday on suspicion of possessing hundreds of images of child pornography, according to authorities.
Bruce Douglas Paddock, 58, was taken into custody at a nursing facility in the 5300 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, in the Valley Village neighborhood, and booked at 8 a.m.. Television news footage showed Paddock in a wheelchair being loaded into the back of a van by Los Angeles Police Department officers.
Documents filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court outlined 20 criminal charges against Paddock, all related to possession of child pornography or the sexual exploitation of children. The felony complaint for the arrest warrant accused Paddock of having more than 600 pornographic images of children or youths, including 10 or more images showing a child younger than 12.
The investigation of Paddock began after evidence was found in a Sun Valley business where he had been squatting, the LAPD said in a statement. The evidence was found after Paddock was evicted, police said.
Paddock was homeless at the time and couldn’t be found, the LAPD said, adding that investigations “recently” tracked him to the North Hollywood facility where he was arrested Wednesday.
The LAPD released a photo of Paddock “in case there may be victims of unreported incidents,” who might see it and contact authorities, the department said.
Josh Rubenstein, an LAPD spokesman, said Paddock’s arrest was the result of an independent investigation by the LAPD and not related to the deadly shooting rampage in Las Vegas.
“There’s no connection,” he said.
On Wednesday, Sandra Breault, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Las Vegas, declined to comment on Bruce Paddock’s arrest.
Bruce Paddock was apprehended at a nursing home that offers patients long- and short-term medical care. A spokeswoman for the facility confirmed the police activity occurred there, but declined to comment on Paddock, citing patient privacy laws.
The suspect is one of four brothers. Their father, Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, was a convicted bank robber who was once placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
Bruce Paddock has had numerous run-ins with local law enforcement over the last 25 years, according to Los Angeles County criminal records.
Steve
Steve is an affordable multifamily housing professional that is also the co-founder of Whiskey Congress. Steve has written for national publications such as The National Marijuana News and other outlets as a guest blogger on topics covering sports, politics, and cannabis. Steve loves whiskey, cigars, and uses powerlifting as an outlet to deal with the fact that no one listens to his brilliant ideas.
