“Malik Patt is a stone-cold serial killer,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “He executed innocent people and he shot others and his behavior and the crime spree he engaged in, literally, I just got chills up my own spine.”
Patt, 20, will be charged with three felony counts of special circumstance murder, three counts of robbery, two counts of attempted murder, and carjacking while armed, according to the DA’s office. Prosecutors say Patt killed a homeless man on July 9 after robbing a 7-Eleven store before fatally shooting two others in separate incidents on July 11.
Patt is also accused of armed robbery at a donut shop and shooting a man in the face at another 7-Eleven that day.
Alleged accomplice Jason Payne, 44, is charged with three felony counts of robbery and one felony count of attempted robbery in the string of crimes on July 11.
Payne cannot be charged with the alleged murders involved in the robberies due to a change in state law on natural and probable consequence, according to Spitzer.
Patt and Payne were both arrested on July 15 and are believed to be neighbors. Spitzer said the two additional alleged robberies in the cities of San Bernardino and Ontario will be processed in San Bernardino County and the two men will be charged in connection with those alleged crimes once the case in Orange County has concluded.
Patt is expected to be held without bail after Tuesday’s arraignment. CNN is currently seeking to reach attorneys for both men.