In a Stockton courtroom, testimony continued Friday in the competency trial of Wesley Brownlee that has so far focused on tape recordings that prosecutors hope will show the accused serial killer can talk and appears to understand what’s being said to him.
The recordings have consisted mostly of phone calls in which Brownlee converses about his case, shows he was able to memorize phone numbers and chats about sports and family events. They span from his 2022 arrest to as recently as April. They stand in contrast to his attorneys’ contentions that he is mentally unfit to stand trial and has stopped talking to them and medical professionals, hindering their ability to mount a solid defense.
Brownlee, 47, was arrested after Stockton police connected him to a series of killings over more than a year. At first, he was accused of killing three unhoused men. But later the charges were expanded to include a total of six counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and multiple felony firearm-related enhancements…