In October 2018, just weeks to go before the L.A. County Sheriff’s election, a high-profile arrest was made in connection with the Malibu Creek State Park Shootings. The story made global headlines with the tragic murder of Tristan Beaudette who was found shot to death in his tent on June 22nd, 2018.
The story continued to gain momentum as victims of previous shootings in the area came forward on our news media site The Local Malibu the day after the murder, revealing a law enforcement cover-up dating back to 2016.
Political Production
After a series of seemingly obvious and calculated moves by the Sheriff’s Department, Anthony Rauda was arrested on October 10th, 2018, for a parole violation, specifically possession of a weapon authorities say is *consistent* with, and/or, * matching* the murder weapon that killed Tristan Beaudette.
Rauda was caught not far from the murder scene, less than two weeks after being seen on camera with a small caliber rifle at the Malibu Family Farms offices while looking for food in the pre-dawn hours of October 30th, 2018.
Almost immediately, photos of the burglar, fully masked, were broadcasted by our local NBC news affiliate, along with new information regarding the weapon used in the Beaudette murder, not previous released by the Sheriff’s department (Beaudette’s autopsy was sealed).
Simultaneous to the news broadcasts, former LASD Public Information Officer, Nicole Nishida, released that multiple burglaries had taken place in the same area, dating back two years, matching the timeline of the shootings in and around Malibu Creek State Park.
Shortly after the photos of the burglar made headlines, the Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of former Sheriff Jim McDonnell, ordered a series of high profile “investigations”/productions, including not one, but two visits in one week from LASD’s Special Enforcement Bureau ( the Sheriff’s version of SWAT), along with NBC and their news choppers nipping at LASD’s heels the entire way, conveniently chronicling the events lead up to Rauda’s arrest.
In January, with what sources tell us is circumstantial evidence at best, Anthony Rauda was formally charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office with the murder of Tristan Beaudette, and ten counts of attempted murder and five counts of burglary in with the Malibu Creek State Park Shootings case.
However, inside sources still maintain there is no ballistics match to the murder weapon, and witness statements and email communication has determined that in at least four of the six shootings Rauda is currently charged with, the crime scenes were never processed by the Sheriff’s Department.
Additionally, Malibu Creek State Park does not have an established Crime Scene Investigation unit, accessible crime lab, or the facilities to store evidence, making at least 4 of the attempted murder charges Rauda was charged with (if not more), virtually impossible to prosecute.
Leading the Witnesses…
On October 7th, 2019, victims in the shootings case dating back to 2016 arrived at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department under the impression they were to be interviewed by homicide detectives investigating the case. This would be the first time detectives were actually interviewing victims of the shootings, almost 16 months after the murder of Tristan Beaudette.
Upon arrival, victims were served with the secret Grand Jury subpoenas, and subjected to interviews not by the detectives who summoned them there, but instead by Deputy D.A. Cynthia Barnes who is prosecuting the case.
Sources tell us that during the interview process, it was learned that much of the information the DA had on file regarding the shootings, especially those prior to the Beaudette murder, were filled with errors and inaccuracies.
The D.A. moved forward with the secret Grand Jury proceedings which took place on October 15th, 2019, a move necessary presumably because of the lack of evidence in the case, and therefore the only way for the DA to move forward to trial.
The indictment was unsealed on Tuesday November 5th, charging Rauda with one count of murder, ten counts of attempted murder, and five counts of burglary.
Missing Links…
Shortly after the fanfare surrounding Rauda’s arrest last October began to wind down, reports of shots fired started surfacing once again, confirming what most of us close to the case already knew, and those living in the area feared.
Anthony Rauda was most likely *not* the man responsible for Beaudette’s murder, or the 6 shootings dating back two years prior.
On Sunday October 28th, 2018, a college student traveling on Las Virgenes/Malibu Canyon Rd. was shot at not far from the entrance to Malibu Creek State Park.
The incident was reported to the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station who investigated the area, but reportedly deputies came up empty handed. The official cause of the shooting was “Undetermined” even through there were multiple accounts of three gunshots heard in the area when the vehicle was struck.
Witnesses, who also heard gunshots in the area and reported it to the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, were counseled accordingly as to the numerous sounds they may have heard… in other words, anything other than a gunshot.
Another witness who works regularly with law enforcement, and has a license to carry a gun, reported a gunshot in the area after Rauda was arrested. The deputy who responded to the call tried her best to convince witness the sound was not a gunshot, even after the witness showed the deputy proof on her Nest home security camera.
Finally, the reports of shots fired subsided temporarily, but only because the area was devastated by the Woolsey Fire.
After a wet winter, lush vegetation grew back in burn areas, restoring the landscape to its pre-Woolsey glory. It also provided perfect cover.
Barely out of the drought-crushing winter storm weather, reports of shots fired started resurfacing – specifically in the area of Malibu Creek State Park.
In March, a resident reached out to me to report hearing a shot fired coming from inside the park. Specifically, a rifle (consistent with the murder weapon). When I inquired with my source at State Parks regarding the gunshots, this ranger confided in me that he was in no hurry to see the campground re-opened, and his rangers were running scared, indicating there was still dangerous activity taking place in the park.
Unfortunately, the higher-ups at State Parks were decidedly more revenue focused than safety-minded and despite multiple reports of gunshots in the area, the campgrounds at Malibu Creek State Park re-opened Memorial Day Weekend for the first time since Beaudette’s murder.
Anthony Rauda has remained behind bars charged with one count of murder, and ten counts of attempted murder, for the last 13 months with very little, if any, solid evidence to keep him there.
On September 4th, in what seemed like a surprising move at the time since Anthony Rauda has revealed to one of our sources that he is well aware the D.A. has no evidence linking him to these crimes, the Defense asked the court for additional time pushing the pre-trial/readiness conference to March of 2020.
A few weeks later, the D.A. served subpoenas for a secret grand jury, luring the victims/witnesses under the guise they were being interviewed by homicide detectives. Once the subpoenas were served, the victims were instructed not to discuss the process with anyone other than their lawyer and employer – and most certainly not the press. As the prosecuting deputy Deputy DA told one victim “there is a lot of false information being reported by the media in this case” (an interesting observation by Deputy DA Barnes since our publication is one of the few actually pushing the truth in this case rather than the DA’s agenda).
Recently, information was released that the Los Angeles Public Defenders Office is currently canvassing the area for information regarding shootings that occurred after Anthony Rauda was arrested on October 10th, 2018.
For those of you who have any information regarding shots fired in the area after October 10th 2018, I urge you to contact the Investigator Nancy Davis at Public Defender’s Office.
Email: ndavis@pubdef.lacounty.gov
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