Police arrest suspect in deadly shootings of 2 black men in La.

BATON ROUGE, La. — A 23-year-old man was arrested Tuesday and accused of killing two black men and shooting up a black family’s home in a string of attacks last week that police say may have been racially motivated.

A law enforcement official said authorities found a handwritten copy of an Adolf Hitler speech at Kenneth James Gleason’s home, and investigators said surveillance footage and DNA on a shell casing link him to the crimes.

Authorities said he would be charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of a homeless man and a dishwasher who was walking to work. In each case, the killer opened fire from his car, then walked up to the victim as he lay on the ground and fired again repeatedly, police said.

Gleason’s attorney, J. Christopher Alexander, said his client “vehemently denies guilt, and we look forward to complete vindication.”

District Attorney Hillar Moore said he may seek the death penalty. “It appears to be cold, calculated, planned (against) people who were unarmed and defenseless,” he said. Gleason is white. Authorities also said that Gleason on Sept. 10 fired into the home of a black family who lived near him and and his parents.

The first killing occurred Sept. 12, when Bruce Cofield, 59, who was homeless, was gunned down. The second took place Thursday, when Donald Smart, 49, was shot on his way to his job at a cafe popular with Louisiana State University students.

Authorities said ballistics tests determined that the same gun was used in all three shootings.

During the search of Gleason’s home, authorities also found 9 grams of marijuana and vials of human growth hormone, according to police.