A man arrested by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles earlier this month was back in Louisiana Friday, where he’s accused of killing his parents.
Joshua Brocato, 34, was transported back to Tangipahoa Parish in southeastern Louisiana after being picked up in L.A. County in connection with the slayings of his parents, Priscilla, 66, and Marc, 75, according to a Facebook post Friday from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Brocato was arrested without incident April 4 after deputies from the Marina del Rey station spotted a white Ford E-150 van parked along the 5400 block of Fairfax Avenue that matched the description of a vehicle involved in the killings in Louisiana, authorities said.
During the investigation, body armor and several loaded firearms, including an assault rifle, were recovered, sheriff’s officials said.
Deputies confirmed that Brocato was wanted by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office for two counts of first-degree murder.
Law enforcement authorities in that parish found Brocato’s mother inside the home and subsequently discovered her husband dead on the couple’s property after being asked to conduct a welfare check on a home in the small town of Amite City a day before their son was arrested.
Authorities tracked the movements of a missing van, with the sheriff’s office alerting several Southern California law enforcement agencies that the van and Brocato were likely in the area, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Along with the murder charges, he is also facing two drug counts and a weapons count, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities had not determined a motive for the crime.