Bruce Paddock has been accused of numerous child pornography crimes, and his case has a national eye on it thanks to his brother, Stephen Paddock.
Stephen was the domestic terrorist who killed 58 people and injured more than 500 others during the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas.
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In the wake of Stephen’s crime, Bruce’s criminal history came to light, as well as his strange behaviors.
Now Bruce (not to be confused with the third Paddock brother, Eric) has been formally accused of numerous heinous crimes.
Here’s everything to known about the suspected criminal.
Background
As Stephen’s crime dominated the headlines, a smaller story about his brother came to light.
Hector Cruz, a former longtime friend of Bruce, came forward with a troubling account of the now-suspected pedophile.
Cruz described him as a “technical genius” who has a passion for working on cars. The two had been friends since the ’80s, but then think went south several years ago.
Bruce asked if he could work on a vehicle at Cruz’s automotive shop and Cruz obliged. Bruce then began to squat at the business soon began to display more threatening and bizarre behavior.
He walked around the property naked and refused to vacate the small attic crawl space he forcibly converted into a living area. Cruz also believed he abused meth.
Additionally, he once stood on top of the roof with gasoline and threatened to burn down the entire shop.
Before Cruz and his employees were finally able to run Bruce out, he stole anything he could.
He was previously arrested for arson, burglary and criminal threats and was also wanted for several violations including a 2014 vandalism charge. It’s unclear if any of these charges stem from his time squatting at the automotive shop.
Arrest
Police were unclear where Bruce could be found, but that soon changed.
Bruce was taken into custody at an assisted living home in North Hollywood, California, after police were tipped off about his crimes and whereabouts after his brother’s attack.
He was charged with one count of possession of child pornography and 19 counts of sexual exploitation of a child. More than 600 images were said to have been found on his computer.
Interestingly enough, investigators reportedly found the computer in an auto shop that Bruce had been squatting in. It’s presumed that auto shop was Cruz’s.
Similarities to Stephen
Unnamed law enforcement officials revealed to TMZ that Bruce had booby traps in place at his home to prevent capture.
The alleged traps included propane tanks tied to doors on his property. He also used homemade surveillance systems to keep watch.
Furthermore, Cruz had claimed Bruce also booby trapped various appliances in the auto shop to cause electrocution. Bruce had also apparently spied on workers in the shop using surveillance cameras.
If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because Stephen took similar measures ahead of the shooting.
To watch for security and police, Stephen set up surveillance outside his hotel room before he killed 58 and injured more than 500 others. He hid a camera on a food cart in the hallway outside his hotel room.
Hearing
On Friday, Bruce entered a not guilty plea to his numerous charges.
He claimed he had not been able to reach his attorney since he was imprisoned. He was instead represented by a public defender.
The defender requested that Bruce be granted supervised release due to medical concerns. Bruce apparently has had four back surgeries and uses a wheelchair.
The judge said she would not grant immediate release, but will review the claim and hold a bail hearing on Friday.
Paddock was reportedly displeased and shook his head in response to the decision.
