BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Investigators seized computer equipment and a notebook containing “personal writings” from the Louisiana home of a white man suspected of killing two black men and shooting up a black family’s home last month, according to
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Investigators seized computer equipment and a notebook containing “personal writings” from the Louisiana home of a white man suspected of killing two black men and shooting up a black family’s home last month, according to court filings on Wednesday.
The documents don’t elaborate on the nature of the written material that police found during their search of Kenneth Gleason’s house in Baton Rouge on Sept. 16.
However, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press last month that authorities found a handwritten copy of an Adolf Hitler speech at the home. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
The list of items seized from Gleason’s home also included clothing, a pair of tennis shoes, two receipts and seven “loose pieces of paper.”
Police have said the deadly attacks may have been racially motivated.
Gleason could face a possible death sentence if he’s convicted in the killings of a homeless man and a male dishwasher who was walking to work. Investigators said surveillance footage and DNA link him to the crimes.
In each case, the killer opened fire from his car, then walked up to the victim as he lay on the ground and fired again repeatedly, police said.
The first killing occurred Sept. 12, when 59-year-old Bruce Cofield, who was homeless, was gunned down. The second took place Sept. 14, when 49-year-old Donald Smart was shot on his way to his job at a cafe popular with Louisiana State University students.
Authorities also said that just after midnight on Sept. 10, Gleason fired into the home of a black family who lived three houses down from Gleason and his parents.
Authorities said ballistics tests determined that the same gun was used in all three shootings. Also, they said DNA found on one of the shell casings matched genetic material on a swab they took from Gleason.