Overview
- Police charged 23-year-old Gabriel Bercea with second-degree murder after investigators said he was linked to the May 3 death of 65-year-old Richard Alan Harris on a Woodland Hills Park trail.
- Officials say lab testing of DNA recovered from the victim’s fingernails and palms returned a match and produced the key forensic link that prompted an arrest.
- Police allege the victim suffered blunt-force trauma and strangulation and that a tree log found in the park was used in the attack.
- Investigators credited residents who turned over Ring and other camera footage and witness interviews for producing a sketch and video frames that helped narrow the search, and the city has increased patrols and installed park cameras.
- Bercea was arraigned by video with a not-guilty plea entered on his behalf and is due back in court for a probable-cause hearing on June 24 while detectives continue to probe motive and other facts.