Crime Los Angeles manhunt underway for killer suspected in string of homeless murders

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Los Angeles manhunt underway for killer suspected in string of homeless murders​

LOS ANGELES - Authorities on Friday asked for the public's help in identifying an individual they believe to be responsible for the murder of three homeless individuals in the Los Angelesarea this past week.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the series of homicides began on Sunday, Nov. 26 at approximately 3 a.m. in South LA in an alleyway at 836 West 110th Street. The second murder occurred early Monday morning, just before 5 a.m. at the 800 block of East Seventh St. in Long Beach. The third murder took place Wednesday morning, just before 3 a.m. near the intersection of South Ave. 18 and Pasadena Ave. near Lincoln Heights.

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Three locations shown on a map revealed by the Los Angeles Police Department Friday as they ask for the public's help tracking a killer who targets homeless people. (LAPD)

Officials identified two of those killed in this string of murders as Jose Bolanos and Mark Diggs. Police are withholding the identity of the third victim while next of kin is notified. All three victims were experiencing homelessness at the time of the murders, according to police.

Police said they believe that each victim was alone when the suspect approached them and that each was shot and killed in their sleep.
While there is still limited information available on the suspect, he is believed to be male and believed to have been wearing a hoodie at the time of the crimes, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said in a press conference Friday.

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The Los Angeles Police Department released this surveillance image of a suspect targeting homeless people in the city. (LAPD)

"This news is devastating to our city," said LA Mayor Karen Bass, "Living on the streets, we already know, is dangerous."

Bass called upon Angelenos to get the word out, and advised those experiencing homelessness to not sleep alone tonight.

"Seek shelter, seek services, stay together, seek support," said Bass.

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The Los Angeles Police Department released this surveillance image of a potential suspect vehicle as city leaders warned a killer may be targeting homeless people. (LAPD)

According to officials, the city is working to open emergency shelters as part of their response to these incidents.

"Many friends and family members know how to reach their unhoused relatives. We need you to contact them today," said Bass in Friday's press conference. "We need you to tell them about this danger. We need you to tell them that they should not be alone tonight. That shelters will be open."

She also urged those experiencing homelessness to reach out to the outreach workers who will be out on the streets.

"And to the person responsible," said Bass, "We will find you, we will catch you, and you will be held accountable."
 
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glass_houses said:
Offing them cleanly in their sleep almost sounds like a professional hit. If a serial killer doesn't physically torture their victims, they usually torture them psychologically, like nurses who murder their wards and get off on distress from family and co-workers.
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Nah, you get a lot of serial killers who are just in it for the "thrill" of the kill opposed to being sexual sadists etc who enjoy suffering. It's either some dude who genuinely has a grudge against the homeless, or some dude who gets off on killing and is choosing the dregs of society as to not bring attention to himself.. which is ironic, because if he used a knife or some other weapon typical of the homeless opposed to a pistol.. these murders would probably have just been put down to homeless on homeless violence.
 
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CharlesBarkley said:
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Wait. I don't get it. Sure they show some crackheads, mentally ill people, people doped out of their mind. But many of them look like normal people in their 20's. Nothing appears outwardly wrong with them. Why they fuck are they hanging out on the street? The group in the thumbnail for the video are a good example. Most of them appear to be in their 20's, they look like healthy, well nourished adults. They are obviously conversing, so they are neurologically intact (at least for the most part) Why the hell are they hanging out on the street like human debris?

All the homeless people in my area are outright filthy, drug using hobos that would eat a cat if they could catch it. They look nothing like these people.
 
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IAmNotAlpharius said:
Bass called upon Angelenos to get the word out, and advised those experiencing homelessness to not sleep alone tonight.

"Seek shelter, seek services, stay together, seek support," said Bass.
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When asked by reporters if there were other steps the homeless could take, Bass said, "Yeah, take a bath, sober the fuck up, and get a job, you lazy, worthless pieces of shit, or I start offing you myself. I mean seriously, you animals have turned this once great city into an unlivable shithole. People--good people, decent people, families and businesses--are leaving this city in droves, all because of you. I hate you with every fiber of my being. If you had one neck, I would strangle it."
 
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oh no its pipkun said:
you godless heathens can condone it but hobo murder runs contrary to the Gospel of Christ.

e: its not easy to love homeless neighbors, dont get me wrong
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1 Timothy 5:8 – If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever
 
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Not gonna lie, the same thought occasionally occurs to me when I see some piece of shit sleeping in a pile of garbage at a bus stop. How easy it would be to just go find a big rock and drop it with great force onto their heads as their worthless ass lies vulnerable on the ground.

But fuck that, I'm not even gonna risk going to prison over some homeless piece of shit. But really, it's amazing they're not targeted more often by the likes of serial killers given how vulnerable you actually are sleeping out in the open without walls and a locked door between you and someone who might wish you harm.
 
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CowPox said:
Does terrorism work against the homeless?
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Kind of. Some will leave for slightly safer pastures, but the burn-outs and terminal trash won't care. In other words, the worst of them will stay, the slightly less bad will fuck off.

Seanut Arbuckle said:
this is why I'm somewhat shocked that we don't hear about more incidents of fed up citizens just going to the local homeless streets and just mowing them down while they're zonked out on their drug of the day.
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You know how the press at one point in time was cautious about releasing information detailing school shooters, for fear of copy-cats? Same thing here. There's also I'd wager a not unjustified fear that people would openly support the ones who're offing the homeless. And giving the plebs hope of any sort in this day and age is something the press and their handlers want to avoid at all costs.
 
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Still Exceptional said:
But really, it's amazing they're not targeted more often by the likes of serial killers given how vulnerable you actually are
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I would guess it's because serial killers are (for the most part) sexual sadists. John Douglas, the pioneering FBI profiler, disliked the term serial killer and preferred the term sexual sadist because (in his experience) killers of that type usually had a sexual motive. There is, however, an element of crossover in some cases. Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer, targeted prostitutes partly because they were easier to hunt (the prey came to him) and partly because prostitutes are typically viewed as unpersons by most police departments.

Without knowing much about this string of murders, I'd guess it's a curious maniac, someone who's fantasized about killing people, studied the situation, and realized how easy it would be to rack up a fairly high body count with minimal chance of getting caught; that is, if he stops now. He'll almost certainly be caught if he keeps going. The cops are no doubt catching a lot of heat from above. They're looking for him.

I'd personally like to know if the killer used a revolver or a semiautomatic. If he used a revolver, he's smart--no fumbling around in the dark for spent brass. If he used a pistol, then he's probably stupid and impulsive, and will likely be caught.
 
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HarblMcDavid said:
This is a bit more direct but unsurprising; up here we had someone going around Seattle lighting tent camps on fire, didn't hear if they ever got caught though.
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Someone was doing this in Portland too. Somehow he got caught despite the fact that they set their own shit on fire pretty much constantly.

Anyway, godspeed to this capeless hero.
 
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Suspect arrested in killings of three L.A. homeless people​

Less than 24 hours after news broke that a serial predator might be targeting some of Los Angeles' most vulnerable residents, police on Saturday announced the arrest of a suspect linked to the homicides of three homeless men across the city in the past week.

Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, is accused of walking up to men in three different Los Angeles neighborhoods over a four-day span, killing each for no apparent reason, Police Chief Michel Moore said Saturday.

Moore described the killings as "senseless" and said footage of at least one homicide shows Powell acting borderline indifferent as he takes a man's life.

"It was chilling and I've been in this work for four-plus decades," Moore said of the Monday killing of Mark Diggs. "The cold-blooded manner in which he walks up and shoots this individual without any hesitation, no interactions."

Powell was arrested Wednesday night by Beverly Hills police after his car was linked to the Sunday killing of 42-year-old Nicholas Simbolon in San Dimas. Powell allegedly robbed Simbolon at his home and shot him in what authorities have termed a "follow home robbery."

Simbolon, who worked for the L.A. County chief executive's office, is survived by his wife, his mother and two sons, officials said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said a 2024 BMW belonging to Powell was spotted at the scene of Simbolon's slaying, and Beverly Hills police spotted the car and arrested Powell after a traffic stop late Wednesday.

Moore said investigators linked the car to the killings of the homeless victims, though he didn't say how, and confirmed that a handgun recovered during Powell's arrest has been tied to all four shootings.

The announcement came less than 24 hours after city officials said that a killer was "preying on the unhoused" during a Friday news conference. Moore said each victim was shot as they slept or was about to lie down.

While Powell was already in custody before Friday's news conference, Moore said Saturday that investigators did not definitively connect him to the killings of the homeless victims until sometime "in the last 16 hours."

A motive remains unclear. Moore said it appeared that the gunman was attacking homeless people who were isolated from groups. None of the homeless victims appear to have been robbed. It also does not appear Powell knew Simbolon or the homeless men.

Powell has a lengthy criminal history, including felony convictions, according to Moore, who said police are looking for additional victims. Moore said investigators will try to reconstruct Powell's movements to see if he left "a path of destruction behind him that we have not yet determined."

Authorities said the first shooting happened at 3:10 a.m. on Sunday in South L.A., when 37-year-old Jose Bolanos was found dead in an alleyway near 110th Street and Vermont Avenue. Bolanos was sleeping on a couch when he was shot, Moore said.

Roughly 24 hours later, Diggs, 62, was shot in the 600 block of Mateo Street in the Arts District. Diggs was pushing a shopping cart and had stopped to plug in his phone, according to Moore, who said the victim was about to go to sleep when the assailant opened fire.

The third shooting occurred Wednesday around 2:30 a.m. near Avenue 18 and Pasadena Avenue in the Lincoln Heights area, where the body of a 52-year-old Latino man was discovered. Police have not released the man's identity yet, pending notification of his family.

The shootings came to light Friday hours before a gunman shot five homeless people beneath a Las Vegas freeway overpass, authorities said.

One man died of his injuries and another was in critical condition. The other victims were listed as stable, police said. No one has been arrested in that case.

Murder charges are expected to be filed early next week, according to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón. He said prosecutors will consider filing special circumstances enhancements in the case. If that happens, Powell would face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The spasm of violence sparked immediate concern among the city's homeless populations and those who minister to people living on the city's streets. In an emergency meeting with outreach coordinators and service providers on Friday afternoon, LAPD officials asked advocates to urge people to either seek shelter space for the night or at least stay in groups until the killer was caught.

News of the suspect’s arrest on Saturday made Jose Fajardo, 64, feel more at ease.

“This is good news,” he said, smiling. “For those of us living outdoors, it gives us a sense of peace knowing he’s been caught.”

Fajardo was unaware of the killings until a Times reporter informed him about it Friday night. He lives in the Vermont Vista neighborhood, where the first homicide occurred six days ago.

The killings made him rethink scavenging for recyclables Saturday morning, since the slayings often took place during the early hours of the day. Instead, he slept in.

Not far from where Fajardo stayed, 41-year-old Eric Muñoz was sweeping trash outside of his RV. He said he was an acquaintance of Bolanos, the man killed near 110th and Vermont.

"He was cool and never got into arguments with people and would try to avoid conflicts,” Muñoz said. “He often spoke about his family, his daughter and how he wanted to get his life in order and return to them. I told him do it, just go and do it. ”

Hearing of the arrest Saturday afternoon, Muñoz nodded in approval.

“I’m glad they got the person,” he said. “Give him the chair.”

But the arrest did not make Muñoz feel any safer. He’s always on alert, and the killings made him worry that someone could easily attack him while he’s sweeping the area outside of his RV.

“I stay here with my girlfriend, they can also just get in the RV and do something,” he said, pointing to a side window of the vehicle. “Someone already broke a window, so you never know. I’m always on alert.”

In Little Tokyo, 46-year-old Amber Schoen had just returned to her tent after washing her clothes when her sister drove up and rushed toward her.

"She didn't say hi or anything, she just immediately said, 'I want you to know there's a serial killer on a mad rampage killing people who are sleeping on the ground,'" Schoen said. "She just wanted me to be careful."

Schoen was relieved to hear of the arrest, but said she knows she needs to remain vigilant sleeping on the street.

"You can't let the foot off the gas, so to speak," she said. "I try to stay in my tent at night and not go out."

Times staff writer Richard Winton and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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