Man convicted of murder in California campground shootings that left father dead inside tent
A man accused of a series of shootings in and around a Southern California campground, including killing a pharmaceutical scientist as he slept in a tent with his two children, was convicted of second-degree murder and other felonies on Friday, his attorney said .
Anthony Rauda, 46, was charged with the first-degree murder of Tristan Beaudette on June 22, 2018, but the jury convicted him on the lesser charge, attorney Nick Okorocha said in an interview.
Rauda was also convicted of three counts of attempted murder and five counts of burglary, Okorocha said.
The jury acquitted Rauda of seven counts of attempted murder in the series of shootings that spanned nearly two years, from November 3, 2016 to June 22, 2018, in and around Malibu Creek State Park, approximately 34 miles west of Los Angeles, he said.
Beaudette, 35, was shot once in the chest. His daughters, aged 2 and 4 at the time, were not injured.
The two children are among the victims of the second-degree attempted murder charge that Rauda was convicted of, Okorocha said.
Rauda was also convicted of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of a Tesla that was driving near the park, Okorocha said.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In court, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case said the evidence was “overwhelming” that Rauda had shot unsuspecting drivers and had “a pattern of stalking and exploiting campers” in the park, usually between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m The City News Service reported.
The first shooting allegedly targeted a man sleeping in a hammock. Rauda was acquitted of the crime.
Rauda was arrested in October 2018 for burglaries targeting a community center and water utility in the area. The City News Service reported. Food was taken during the burglaries.
He was later charged with the shootings.
Okorocha said there were enough loopholes in the case for the jury to see reasonable doubt about the prosecutor’s claims.
“The jury appears to have been very careful and detail-oriented in their deliberations,” he said.
