A suspected serial killer believed to be responsible for massacring three homeless people on the streets of Los Angeles was identified Saturday, after investigators realized he was already in custody for a fourth separate murder.
Convicted felon Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, allegedly shot the three vulnerable men as they slept, as well as a fourth man, who was not a homeless man, in a botched robbery during a violent four-day killing spree, he said. police.
Powell was arrested Wednesday for the robbery gone wrong and on Saturday investigators connected him to the homeless murders.
The news comes just one day after city officials announced an urgent call to the homeless to be on high alert for a killer “preying on the homeless.”
“Twenty-four hours ago we announced that there was a murderer on the loose. He is now in custody,” Mayor Karen Bass said at a press conference.
Powell had been in custody since his arrest Wednesday.
Jerrid Joseph Powell allegedly shot and killed at least four people during a four-day killing spree. Citizen
Authorities did not provide further details about his criminal history, but noted that he is a convicted felon with a record that includes violent crimes.
“Based on his criminal history, he didn’t start doing this a week ago,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
The accused killer began the madness by allegedly killing Jose Bolaños, 37, on Sunday at 3 a.m. while the victim was sleeping, a savage crime he is accused of replicating just 24 hours later, gunning down Mark Diggs, of 62 years old, behind a building. , the police said.
Jerrid Joseph Powell started the rampage by allegedly killing 37-year-old Jose Bolaños on Sunday at 3 a.m. LAPD
The third unidentified victim was killed around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, just hours before Powell was taken into custody.
He was arrested in connection with a home burglary on Tuesday night that left a 42-year-old father of two dead.
Powell allegedly followed Nicholas Simbolon for 12 miles from an electric vehicle charging station to his home in San Dimas before shooting and robbing him as he got out of his car, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office.
The alleged serial killer was linked to the various murders committed by his car, which was seen at the scene of each homicide Powell is accused of committing, police said.
The three homeless men were murdered while they slept on the streets of Los Angeles. LAPD Powell was arrested Wednesday in connection with a botched robbery that left a father of two dead. Los Angeles Police
Investigators used an automatic license plate reading system to locate Powell and he was taken into custody following a traffic stop in Beverly Hills.
A handgun was found inside the vehicle, which was “positively identified” as the murder weapon used in all four murders, police said.
“If they had not had access to those tools, I am convinced that this individual would continue to move around the city, in the region, and kill people, innocent people, defenseless people,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Michael Moore.
It’s unclear what motive Powell had for the attack, but Moore said the homeless men, who were all asleep when they were attacked, were killed “without provocation.”
A gun was found inside Powell’s car that was linked to all four murders, police said. Los Angeles Police
In a statement, police described the robbery as “senseless.”
The indiscriminate killings prompted city officials to create a task force and open emergency shelters normally relegated to harsh weather conditions to get as many homeless people off the streets as possible.
Staff also flooded the streets to encourage homeless people to seek shelter or, at a minimum, stay in groups until the attacker is apprehended.
Authorities are investigating whether Powell may be linked to other cases.
Powell is being held on $2.1 million bail.
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