Danny Lee Stokes

"You stay out of my city!"

Daniel "Danny" Lee Stokes is a schizophrenic serial-turned-spree killer and vigilante who appeared in Protection.

Background
In 2012, Danny was diagnosed with severe paranoid schizophrenia, which was inherited from his mother Miriam, also a schizophrenic. Miriam was the landlady of Patricia Valdez, whose ex-husband David Ruiz was a known criminal. One day, Miriam was killed by a burglar, and Danny blamed Ruiz for committing the murder. Without Miriam, who influenced him to take his medication, he put off taking it any further and began drinking. He went into a downwards spiral that intensified when he couldn't find Ruiz, who by that point had fled the city. As a result, Danny instead abducted Patricia and her daughter Milena and killed the both of them, remorsefully burying their bodies in the front yard of his home afterwards. He then began hallucinating visions of Patricia and Milena, who would encourage him to go out and find Ruiz to avenge his mother's murder, all the while killing any other person he comes across and believes to be committing an immoral act. Eight days later, Danny was driven to kill Gary Fisher, a john who was soliciting a prostitute. Three days later, he killed another john, Nate Cochran, as well as a prostitute he was soliciting, Tasha Brooks.

Modus Operandi
Danny targeted people he believed were committing immoral acts, although the only victims who were actually doing so was Tasha Brooks and the johns, while the rest of the victims were killed after he hallucinated them committing crimes. He would shoot each victim repeatedly in the chest, neck, and head (mostly in the face) with a .45-caliber handgun, emptying at least one magazine on them, and also beat them (with the exceptions of Nate Cochran and Tasha Brooks).

Profile
The unsub is a white male aged in his 20s and a "moral enforcer", a type of vigilante. He is mission-oriented and may believe it is his duty to clean up crime on the streets. He likely does nightly patrols and stalks anyone that he thinks is suspicious. He may be suffering from some kind of drug-related psychosis, and it is also believed he may have been a victim of violent crime himself. The crimes appear to be personal, which makes even him more unpredictable and dangerous. He is gaining confidence with every murder, and as his confidence grows, so will his belief in his cause. The unsub lives in the Los Angeles area and possibly grew up there, but it is believed he is severely antisocial to the point where he probably cannot keep anything more than a part-time job. According to statistics, the unsub will likely not be arrested at the end of the investigation, as with the vast majority of these types of serial crimes, the killer usually does not go down easily and is not apprehended alive. So far, he has been smart enough to flee before the authorities show up. Even though he is a vigilante, he may think the authorities do not share his belief in punishing criminals, and his zeal may be connected to a deep mistrust in law enforcement.

Known Victims

 * 2015:
 * April 17: Patricia Valdez and her daughter Milena
 * April 25: Gary Fisher
 * April 28: Nate Cochran and Tasha Brooks
 * April 29: The alleyway shooting:
 * Lamar Taylor
 * Clara Miller
 * April 30: Christopher DeLuca
 * May 1: The Stokes home shooting:
 * Unnamed mailman
 * Shot at the following repeatedly on two occasions, but missed:
 * Derek Morgan
 * Jennifer Jareau
 * Spencer Reid
 * Detective Spreewell

Appearances

 * Season Ten
 * Protection