Rifle-Toting Parolee Questioned In Burglaries And Shootings

CALABASAS, CA – A 42-year-old rifle-toting burglary suspect was arrested Wednesday, and deputies are working to determine if he was involved in a series of shootings that started in Malibu two years ago – including the fatal slaying of a father camping with his young daughters in Malibu Creek State Park.

Investigators arrested Anthony Rauda, who was dressed in black clothes, about 3:20 p.m. Wednesday after an extensive search for an armed survivalist connected to eight burglaries in the Malibu and Calabasas area starting in 2016. He was arrested in a ravine about a mile and a half north of Mulholland Highway west of Las Virgenes Road in the Malibu Canyon area, where investigators picked up fresh boot prints, followed them for about 50 yards and heard rustling in some brush, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said at Wednesday evening news conference at sheriff's headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

That led to the discovery of the rifle-carrying suspect, prompting a short standoff before the man peacefully dropped his weapon and surrendered, McDonnell said.

Rauda, a parolee who has a criminal history that includes burglaries and weapons violations, was booked at the Malibu-Lost Hills Station and will be held without bail based on a no-bail felony parole violation warrant, McDonnell said.

The arrest was made after an extensive search one day after an early-morning burglary at a Calabasas community center, where someone smashed a vending machine and stole food, sparking concerns the crime was committed by a rifle-toting burglar spotted in the area last week.

There has also been speculation the armed burglar might be connected to the June shooting death of a man who was camping in the park with his two daughters. McDonnell said investigators had not yet linked Rauda to the Beaudette killing, but a rifle he was carrying at the time of his arrest was recovered and will undergo forensic analysis.

Tuesday's burglary occurred about 3 a.m. at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center at 27040 Malibu Hills Road, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The culprit broke a glass door at the center to get inside.

"Detectives believe the same suspect, who is possibly involved in eight other burglaries, used a rock to break the front glass door," according to the sheriff's department.

Before Tuesday morning's break-in, the most recent burglary was Thursday in the 700 block of Malibu Canyon Road, according to the sheriff's department.

Prior to that, there was a Sept. 30 burglary at a commercial structure in the 26800 block of Mulholland Highway. In that case, surveillance video showed a man wearing what deputies called "tactical gear" and carrying a rifle. The suspect in that break-in also stole food, deputies said.

On Oct. 2, sheriff's officials conducted a large-scale manhunt in the area, but the suspect wasn't found. Some residents reported hearing gunfire that night.

On Saturday, a maintenance worker in the Tapia Park area about a mile south of the Malibu Creek State Park campground "encountered a person who matched the description of the armed commercial burglar," Sgt. Matthew Dunn of the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff's station said.

Dunn said the man asked the park worker for a ride out of the canyon, "because he said there were so many police in the area."

The maintenance worker left and called deputies, prompting another massive search of the area on Saturday. Deputies combed Malibu Canyon for hours with the aid of three helicopters. The search was called off when darkness fell over the area.

Another burglary was reported on Sept. 24 in the 700 block of Malibu Canyon Road and the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center was burglarized on July 27, according to the sheriff's department.

Other burglaries of which the same person is suspected occurred on March 8, 2017, in the 26800 block of Mulholland Highway; on Oct. 28, 2016, a few miles north of Malibu Creek State Park in Calabasas; and on Oct. 10, 2016, in the 26800 block of Dorothy Drive in an unincorporated area near Calabasas, the sheriff's department reported.

The break-ins and searches have heightened trepidation among residents who have been on edge following the June 22 shooting death of 35-year-old Irvine resident Tristan Beaudette, who was killed in his tent at Malibu Creek State Park, where he was camping with his two daughters, ages 2 and 4.

Dunn said last week investigators had not linked any burglaries to the shooting, "but we certainly haven't ruled it out." He added that the suspect might be a transient living in the park.

McDonnell told reporters Tuesday he could not go into details of the investigation but said he recognizes how much concern the rash of criminal activity has generated.

"There's been a number of issues people, I think, are aware of, recent shootings as well as burglaries in the area," McDonnell said, adding that the department had "a lot of resources dedicated to" the investigation.

City News Service and Patch staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Image via Google Maps