Brother Of Vegas Shooter Pleads Not Guilty To Child Porn Trove

LOS ANGELES, CA — A brother of the Las Vegas mass killer pleaded not guilty Friday to felony charges of possessing hundreds of images of child or youth pornography.

Bruce Douglas Paddock, 58, was originally scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, but the hearing was postponed due to an unspecified medical issue. A bail review hearing was set for Nov. 3 and a preliminary hearing setting was scheduled on Nov. 9.

Paddock, jailed on $60,000 bail, was arrested Wednesday at an assisted living facility in the 5300 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood.

A felony complaint filed Tuesday against Paddock in Los Angeles Superior Court outlines 20 criminal charges of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child. He's accused of being in possession of more than 600 images of child or youth pornography, including 10 or more images of a minor under 12 years old.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the investigation into Paddock began "after evidence was discovered inside a business located in the 9000 block of San Fernando Road in Sun Valley."

"Paddock had been squatting inside the business and after his eviction, the evidence was discovered," according to the LAPD. "At the time of the initial investigation, Paddock was a transient and could not be located."

He was found Wednesday morning at the Laurel Canyon Boulevard address and arrested by a task force that also included the FBI. News footage showed him in a wheelchair being loaded into a van by police officers.

The LAPD said the investigation began before Paddock's 64-year-old brother, Stephen, holed up in a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas and shot hundreds of concertgoers at a country music festival the night of Oct. 1, killing 58 people before taking his own life.

The criminal complaint against Bruce Paddock indicates his alleged crimes were committed in 2014.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck told ABC7 there is no connection "that we know of" between the Bruce Paddock investigation and the Las Vegas shooting.

The LAPD circulated his photo "in case there may be victims of unreported incidents" and asked anyone with information to call Lt. Andrea Grossman at (562) 624-4027, or (877) LAPD-247.

Bruce Paddock spoke to various reporters after the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting, saying he had not been in touch with his brother for a decade.

"I don't know how he could stoop to this low point, hurting someone else," Paddock told NBC News. "It wasn't suicide by cop since he killed himself. He killed a bunch of people and then killed himself so he didn't have to face whatever it was."

According to NBC News and other outlets, Bruce Paddock has a criminal record that includes convictions for vandalism, theft and criminal threats.

Benjamin Paddock, the father of Bruce and Stephen, was a bank robber who once appeared on the FBI's most-wanted list.

City News Service