Eureka Police Department Chief Steve Watson said the arrest of Wesley Lee Starritt has taken “a possible serial killer in the making off the streets.”
On Monday, the 22-year-old with a violent criminal record was arrested in connection to the May 20 homicide of 84-year-old Roger Mitchell “Mitch” Clark. The EPD also found “probable cause” to arrest him on suspicion of attempted homicide for the stabbing of a 38-year-old woman in Cooper Gulch in Eureka.
“There is no doubt in my mind this arrest saved lives,” Watson said.
Starritt is being held at the Humboldt County jail on $1,585,000 bail.
Starritt was initially arrested May 26 on suspicion of a probation violation and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
EPD detectives identified the man as a “strong person of interest” in both Clark’s homicide and two other recent stabbing cases.
Watson, during a Wednesday news conference at the department headquarters, said Starritt’s criminal actions “paint a portrait of pure evil.”
Law enforcement also believes Starritt was responsible for an April 20 stabbing of a 43-year-old man on the 1900 block of Holly Street in Eureka. He has not yet been formally accused of that stabbing.
Starritt has a felony record after being convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in the January 2018 stabbing of a 59-year-old man. Starritt returned to Eureka in March of this year after being released from Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los
Angeles.
Watson said none of Starrit’s victims knew the suspect.
“It appears his motive in these crimes may have been simply to kill,” he said.
A May 23 autopsy on Clark confirmed he was the victim of homicide, Watson said.
The 84-year-old victim who was known to friends as “Mitch” was found dead in his residence on the 4000 block of Campton Road in Eureka on May 20 just before 8 p.m. by police after a family member of Clark reported finding victim alone in his home.
After Starritt was initially arrested May 26, law enforcement served a search warrent at the suspect’s Campton Road residence and further evidence was collected, including evidence tied to the homicide, Watson said.
Roger Clark Jr., the homicide victim’s son, spoke briefly Wednesday and thanked law enforcement for their swift efforts.
“This is an important first step in bringing peace back into our community, and into the rest of our lives,” he said.
Andrew Butler can be reached at 707-441-0526.
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