Courage Came Naturally to Man Who Chased Down Alleged Serial Killer

A 32-year-old Yorba Linda man who received a $5,000 reward today for helping to catch a former Marine charged with fatally stabbing four homeless men in Orange County, said he's not sure what gave him the courage to chase the suspected serial killer.

Donny Hopkins, a married father of two, said he saw the alleged serial killer stab 64-year-old transient John Berry behind a Carl's Jr. restaurant at 5701 E. La Palma Ave. and chased him.

Hopkins told City News Service that if he hadn't gotten off work early that night, he might not have been in the right place to make a difference.

"I normally don't get off until 8:30, but that Friday I got off at 8 o'clock, so that put me in the right place at the right time," Hopkins said.

"I called my wife and said I'm off work and on the way home and she said, "Can you stop and get a pack of cigarettes?' So I stopped by the CVS and I saw John Berry standing outside talking to one of his friends and didn't think nothing of it, went in and got my stuff and was next in line when a gentleman ran in saying, "I need help. The serial killer's stabbing somebody,' so I threw my stuff on the counter and ran outside."

Hopkins said he could see "the killer standing over Berry, stabbing him repeatedly over and over again."

Hopkins had known Berry for about a year, running into him regularly in the area. Once he gave the homeless man a little more than $3, which Hopkins said he found out was rare, because Berry didn't request or accept handouts.

"I knew him well enough to know he was a good guy," he said.

His concern for Berry likely fueled his courage in chasing the suspect, Hopkins said.

The suspect -- identified by authorities as Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, of Yorba Linda -- did not immediately respond to Hopkins as he hollered and ran toward him, according to Hopkins.

"He didn't acknowledge me until I got about 15 feet away and he finally stopped, looked up at me and started running," he said.

Hopkins, who was wearing steel-toed boots and by his own admission doesn't think he's in the best shape, sprinted as fast as he could to keep up with the suspect, a former Marine who served in Iraq.

"I mean he was fast. I was running as fast as I can," Hopkins said.

Hopkins grew frightened when he realized he was alone in the pursuit through an empty parking lot, so he pulled out his cell phone and tried to dial 911 while running.

"I have a Blackberry, so the buttons are really small, and it actually took three times to get 911," Hopkins said, adding he had to slow down to dial the number correctly.

The suspect then tried to elude Hopkins in the mobile home park where Hopkins lives. That motivated him even more to stay on the man's trail, he said.

"He went through a pedestrian gate that's surrounded by brick walls on both sides and I didn't know if he was waiting," Hopkins said, so he stopped until he could see if the suspect was still running.

The suspect appeared to ditch a black hoodie he was wearing and emerged wearing a red shirt, Hopkins said. He chased the suspect through the mobile home park, wondering at one point whether his son was out playing as he's allowed to do on Friday nights.

When some neighbors came out of their house, Hopkins shouted, "Get back in there, I chased the serial killer here," he said.

Moments later, police arrived and took Ocampo into custody.

When the suspect ran into Hopkins' neighborhood, "It started to hit me my kids are in here, my family's in there, I can't let this guy get away," he said.

Hopkins said he plans to use the reward money from the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs to pay off some of his mother's bills and to buy a used car. For now, he relies on his wife to drop him off at his temporary job as a forklift operator.

"I felt good about helping catch him, but I didn't feel good about being called a hero," Hopkins said, noting that he couldn't prevent Berry's death.

Hopkins was heartened, though, to find out from investigators that he may have stopped the killer from striking again because they suspect Ocampo had more targets in mind.

The deputies' union and the Anaheim Police Officers Association plan to donate $5,000 to Mercy House, which provides shelter and other services to the homeless.

Ocampo has been charged with murdering Berry, 53-year-old James McGillivray, 42-year-old Lloyd "Jim" Middaugh, and 57-year-old Paulus Cornelius "Dutch" Smith.

Related: Meeting With Alleged Serial Killer 'Surreal,' Attorney Says

—City News Service