Shawn Laval Smith was walking around in plain sight in bustling Pasadena, in a shopping district jammed with restaurants and shops, just 16 miles from where Brianna Kupfer was murdered.
The man suspected of killing 24-year-old UCLA grad student Brianna Kupfer is behind bars today on a $2 million bail.
Shawn Laval Smith was spotted at a bus stop by a citizen who recognized him from news reports and called 911.
“I see a gentleman who looks very similar to the suspect in the Kupfer stabbing,” the 911 caller said.
You can hear the hesitancy in the caller's voice.
“He had a backpack, a black backpack, that was very similar to the one I've seen in images,” the caller said.
Police swooped in and arrested Smith, charging him with the brutal killing of Kupfer in a random attack as she worked at a luxury furniture store.
“When I saw his face, he just had cold eyes, but he also had a look of like well, they got me,” said Charlie Salinas, who recorded the arrest.
The suspect was walking around in plain sight in bustling Pasadena, in a shopping district jammed with restaurants and shops, just 16 miles from where Kupfer was murdered.
Now there is growing outrage over why Smith, who has such a long rap sheet, was free to roam the streets. Last year, he was arrested on a felony charge of assault upon a police officer in San Mateo, California.
Smith pleaded no contest to resisting an officer. Soon after, a judge found he had violated probation and issued a warrant for his arrest.
“Our officers and officers across the state and nation are actually going out there and arresting people, but unfortunately these individuals are not staying in jail," Det. Jamie McBride, who works for the LAPD and who serves as the director of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, told Inside Edition. "People need to be held accountable and unfortunately, when people aren’t held accountable, this is what happens."
