81-Year-Old 'Serial Slingshot Shooter' Found Dead Days After Arrest

Hands holding sling shot, close-up, b&w

Photo: Laurent Hamels / PhotoAlto Agency RF Collections / Getty Images

An elderly man accused of vandalizing his neighbors' properties using a slingshot for nearly a decade died just a few days after he was arrested.

Prince King, 81, was taken into custody on May 23, accused of using a slingshot to fire metal ball bearings at his neighbors' homes and cars. Over the course of ten years, King caused about $10,000 worth of damage.

He was finally arrested following a lengthy investigation in which officers staked out his house and watched him fire tiny metal ball bearings using a slingshot.

Officials said that King didn't have a specific motive for the attacks "other than just malicious mischief."

His neighbors were shocked to learn that he was responsible for the acts of vandalism.

"He's always nice," Veronica Jonasson, who lived next door to King, told NBC News. "I'm honestly surprised," Jonasson added. "I never thought he'd be terrorizing the neighborhood like that."

King was charged with seven counts of vandalism and released without bail.

On Thursday, King passed away at a private residence from heart disease. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office listed the manner of his death as "natural."


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