A silver-haired ‘serial slingshot shooter’ has been found dead days after his arrest and first court appearance.
Prince Raymond King, 81, was accused of terrorizing his neighbours with a slingshot for nearly a decade. But he never got to feel the full force of the law for his alleged actions after cops found him dead inside a home in Azusa, California.
Police told the Los Angeles Daily News that they discovered King’s body at around 7.30am on Wednesday. Azusa police Sgt Nick Covarrubias told the outlet there was no “evidence of foul play.”
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According to the local medical examiner’s office, King died naturally of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
(Image: Azusa PD)
Arteriosclerosis is a type of vascular disease where the blood vessels carrying oxygen away from the heart become damaged from factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.
During his court hearing on Tuesday, the octogenarian offender slowly walked into West Covina Superior Court, and pleaded not guilty.
According to ABC 7 King was accused of spending the previous nine years using his slingshot to fire metal ball bearings at his neighbours’ homes and vehicles.
(Image: ABC7)
He faced five charges of felony vandalism and two charges of misdemeanor vandalism for supposedly using a slingshot to damage his neighbours’ property. During his alleged campaign of destruction, he was said to have broken many windows and car windshields with the small hand-held weapon.
King was charged with vandalism by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for incidents that occurred between October 2021 and May 2024, as reported by the Los Angeles Daily News
However, neighbours claimed King’s slingshot attacks dated back to 2015.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The police concluded that the ball bearings were originating from him as they investigated the matter, leading to the arrest of the nuisance neighbour on May 23.
The outlet was told by Cpl. Benjamin Cypher that the police found a slingshot and 10 to 40 ball bearings in his possession when he was arrested.
The veteran vandal was released from custody following his hearing Tuesday when his legal team argued he attorneys argued he had several medical conditions.
In spite of that, he was given orders not to stay in his Azusa home, though he was permitted to return to pick up medications.
(Image: Getty Images/EyeEm)
King was instructed to keep a distance of at least 200 yards from the homes he supposedly targeted, avoid contact with the victims, and refrain from having any deadly weapons, such as his slingshot.
“We’ve been here since 2018. (It’s been) ongoing all that time,” one of the King’s neighbours and alleged victims, James Mead, told LA Daily News following King’s arrest.
“To me, it seems to be a really good neighborhood, except for windows being broken,” Mead said.
King was due back in court on June 17 for his preliminary hearing.
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