Who is Mason Lira? Paso Robles shooting suspect has criminal record in Tulare County

The man suspected of killing a homeless man and shooting a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputy in Paso Robles has a minor past criminal history and a social media account that includes bizarre ramblings and photos of guns.

But, contrary to online speculation and statements from law enforcement officials tying the shooting to recent anti-law enforcement sentiment, there is no immediate information online to suggest that Mason James Lira, 26, was inspired to commit an “attack” on police officers by recent national events.

Lira remained the target of a multi-agency manhunt Thursday, after he was spotted buying an energy drink at a gas station early Thursday morning.

At 2 p.m., masses of police responded to reports the suspect had been located between Ramada Drive and the Salinas riverbed in the industrial area of southern Paso Robles.

Police said Lira should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Removed from Amtrak train

Lira, who local authorities have said is a transient from Monterey County, appears to have moved around the West Coast in recent years.

In August 2019, he was removed from an Amtrak train in Oregon after making threatening statements to passengers and the conductor, according to a report from KDRV-TV.

On Aug. 4, a train leaving from Klamath Falls for Eugene was forced to make an unscheduled stop when Lira, who the report identifies as from Fresno, “was talking about weapons and threatening passengers and the train conductor.”

The train carrying 272 passengers stopped after personnel called 911, the station reported. A SWAT team assembled, and police boarded the train and arrested Lira without incident. No weapons or injuries were reported.

The train was delayed for 4 hours and 57 minutes and caused thousands of dollars in lost revenue for Amtrak, Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe due to the tracks being shut down for that period of time, the article says.

Klamath County court records related to the incident were not immediately available Thursday.

Lira’s criminal history

San Luis Obispo Superior Court records do not show any criminal history for Lira here. However, court records elsewhere show he has a history of minor criminal offenses and failing to appear in court.

His cases in Tulare County, for example, include battery on a peace officer, to which he pleaded guilty in 2015, and most recently, failing to appear in court for a 2019 allegation that he trespassed on a school campus.

He’s currently scheduled to be in Tulare Superior Court on Aug. 11 for the failure-to-appear charge.

Lira’s Facebook history also shows posts saying he spent time in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz Superior Court records show nearly a dozen traffic offenses, as well as a misdemeanor charge of trespassing in March 2019, which was dismissed, and a June 2019 misdemeanor case of providing a false ID to a peace officer.

He is scheduled to be in Santa Cruz Superior Court in July for that latter alleged offense after previously failing to appear at an arraignment.

A search of records in Fresno and Monterey Superior Court did not show any cases against Lira.

Rambling posts on social media

Lira’s online profile contains a host of rambling and nonsensical Facebook posts and bizarre writings.

On Amazon, Lira is listed as author of a self-published book, “I Am James: Part 1,” which comes with the following description:

“The following story of James is of a past incarnation regarding the death of his life. Being a supposedly true story having found his hidden grave in Pogonip Park, Santa Cruz, California. The story gets better in the end.”

The book has no customer reviews.

Lira’s social media comments also show several odd writings, as well as photographs of guns.

In October 2018, Lira posted an offer of his services for “reasonable computer repair,” for which he requires a “100 Cash Dollar Appearance fee.”

Lira wrote that his services were available “to the public of Santa Cruz and surrounding areas.”

Many of his posts — sometimes several were made in a single day — make no sense but show a potentially troubled individual.

“You kill your own people, which is why we wage war with the Atlanteans,” he wrote in September 2018.

“Your (sic) all like me, except im not a coward, you all think you can kill someone and come back and live. Ive never raped, Ive never murdered,” he wrote a few days earlier.

“I tried to free the slaves. So they wouldnt bark and arf like dogs,” he wrote Sept. 4, 2018.

“You drove me to be this. By killing my kids,” he wrote in August 2018.

Some posts allude to a ritualistic fantasy and “sacrifice,” while others appear to be addressing someone in particular.

There are no posts found by The Tribune that reference anti-police protests or violence against police, but in September 2017, he posted several stock photographs of firearms, including one of a pump-action double barrel shotgun.

“A very good weapon for breaching as well as when you have to be on boar (sic) and clear corners,” Lira wrote.

A 5-minute selfie video featuring a a monolgue by Lira on Facebook includes muses about a man named Miles who Lira says “can see what I can see,” as well as a curse Lira says he has that can only be removed in a temple.

“There are only three people on this planet who can see what I can see, who can hear what I hear,” Lira is seen saying to the camera.

In his most recent Facebook post, in October 2018, he wrote: “Looking at all my old posts; Wow. Some out there things were typed.”

Since his name was released by authorities, Facebook users have flooded his page, with a majority of the comments rooting for his capture; many said they hoped Lira is killed by police.

“Your (sic) time is ticking you piece of s**t!” wrote one user.

“He better be looking like a bowling ball with three in his head,” wrote another.

Some users urged others to withhold making comments until all the facts are established, and pointed out that it appears from his writing that Lira suffers from serious mental illness.

“(You) obviously have no idea about mental health issues. You better pray to God you never have anyone you love suffer from mental illness!!!” one user wrote.

A Fresno phone number posted on his Facebook page was not answered, and a voicemail box had not been set up. Several other phone numbers listed in public records databases under his name were either disconnected or not answered.

Fresno Bee reporter Anthony Galaviz contributed to this report.

This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 10:37 AM with the headline "Who is Mason Lira? Paso Robles shooting suspect has criminal record in Tulare County."