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Man Who Helped Catch OC Serial Killer: 'It's Hard to Feel Good About Something That Went So Wrong'
Footage of suspect's arrest. Screenshot/ABC7.
The OC serial killer who was targeting homeless men was brought down in large part by one 32-year-old man, and that man is now speaking to the press.
Donny Hopkins of Yorba Linda allegedly saw Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, as he was stabbing one of his victims behind a Carl's Jr. Hopkins ran after him, and eventually dialed 9-1-1 and led the police to Ocampo.
Now, the OC Register reports that while he's glad he could help stop the bloodbath that had been plaguing Orange County since December, he's haunted by what he saw and what Ocampo is accused of doing.
"It makes me feel good knowing what I did," Hopkins told the Register, "but it's hard to feel good about something that went so wrong."
Hopkins reportedly saw Ocampo as Ocampo was killing John Berry, 64. After screaming at him to stop, Hopkins laced up his shoes and began running at full speed after Ocampo. He says when Ocampo turned into Hopkins' own neighborhood, where his wife and children were at home, he knew he couldn't give up the chase.
"It started to hit me: my kids are in here, my family's in there, I can't let this guy get away,'' he told City News Service.
The police eventually arrived and arrested Ocampo, and today, Hopkins received $5,000 for his role in the arrest.
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