Murder Charges Announced for 7-Eleven Shooting Suspect

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer (C) and other law enforcement officials speak about a plan to charge a Los Angeles man in connection with a deadly robbery spree at a half-dozen 7-Elevens and a doughnut shop at a news conference in Santa Ana, Calif., on July 18, 2022. Screenshot via Facebook/Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Prosecutors plan to charge a Los Angeles man in connection with three murders across Southern California as part of a deadly crime spree at a half-dozen 7-Elevens and a doughnut shop.

Law enforcement accused Malik Patt, 20, of Los Angeles, of the July 11 deaths of a 7-Eleven clerk in Brea and a man who intervened in a robbery in a 7-Eleven parking lot in Santa Ana. Police have also linked him to the fatal shooting of a homeless man in Los Angeles on July 9.

Three other people were shot and wounded in the July 11 violence, one of whom remained gravely injured Monday, according to Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

This booking photo released by the Santa Ana Police Department shows suspect Malik Patt, 20, of Los Angeles, on Friday, July 15, 2022. Santa Ana Police Department via AP

Patt faces charges including murder, attempted murder, robbery, and carjacking. If convicted, his case could result in the death penalty or a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Spitzer on July 18 called Patt “a stone-cold serial killer.”

“There’s no other way to describe him. He executed innocent people and he shot others,” Spitzer said at a press conference in Santa Ana. “And the crime spree he engaged in is literally—I just got chills up my own spine—it’s chilling.”

Authorities say Patt’s accomplice and neighbor, Jason Payne, 44, was not involved in the killings. Payne faces multiple charges of robbery.

“Patt engaged in the most serious and aggravated horrible crimes that a human being can effectuate on another living person ... Payne’s role was in that he was present,” Spitzer said.

This booking photo released by the Santa Ana Police Department shows suspect Jason Payne, 44, of Los Angeles, on Friday, July 15, 2022. Authorities said Saturday, July 16 that Payne and Malik Patt were arrested Friday in connection with a series of deadly robberies at Southern California 7-Eleven stores. Santa Ana Police Department via AP

The suspects, arrested on July 15, targeted 7-Eleven stores in Ontario, Brea, La Habra, Santa Ana, Upland, and Riverside last week, causing 7-Eleven chains to close early in Los Angeles County.

Both men are being held in jail and are expected to be arraigned Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether they had attorneys who could speak on their behalf.

It seems to be a coincidence that the crimes occurred on “National 7/11 Day,” when customers usually get free Slurpees, according to the district attorney’s office.

Deputy Doug Martin speaks to reporters at the Orange County Sheriff's Department Law Enforcement Shooting Range in Orange, Calif., on March 30, 2021. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Detectives also believe Patt and Payne may be connected to other crimes, including robberies in the San Fernando Valley.

“Criminals know no boundaries," Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at the press conference on Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.