Los Angeles police arrest alleged serial killer suspected in 4 deaths
Los Angles police announced an arrest has been made in the killing of at least three homeless people and one additional individual.
The 33-year-old California man accused of killing four people last week had just received a $700,000 settlement from the City of Santa Monica after he suffered serious injuries when a beach patrol officer ran him over while responding to a fire.
Jerrid Powell was lying in a ditch on one of the country's most scenic beaches at the time, according to authorities.
"The City settled the lawsuit claiming negligence after a Santa Monica Harbor Services Officer, after responding to a call reporting a fire on the beach, rolled over the plaintiff who was laying in a six to eight-inch-deep ditch in the sand," a city spokesperson confirmed in a statement.
LOS ANGELES POLICE ARREST ALLEGED SERIAL KILELR SUSPECTED IN 4 DEATHS
Los Angeles police have accused Jerrid Powell of a string of shootings – three targeting sleeping homeless men and a follow-home robbery that left the victim dead in his Tesla. (LAPD)
Records show Powell filed the lawsuit in 2020 alleging negligence in the 2019 incident. The city and the court approved the settlement earlier this year.
Law enforcement sources called Powell a "vicious" offender who is believed to have used some of his settlement money to buy a gun and car used in the murders.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said in a statement that Powell has at least one prior felony conviction and could not legally own or purchase a firearm. He also had a misdemeanor theft conviction, according to the source.
LOS ANGELES MANHUNT UNDERWAY FOR SERIAL KILLER SUSPECTED IN STRING OF DEATHS
The Los Angeles Police Department released this surveillance image of a serial killing suspect they said was targeting homeless people in the city. Police eventually arrested Jerrid Powell, 33, after the murder of another victim in his own garage. (LAPD)
He racked up two other theft charges while on probation for a 2018 assault with a deadly weapon conviction, according to NBC Los Angeles, which first reported the settlement.
Powell is accused of killing three sleeping homeless men in separate shootings on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday of last week, as well as the Tuesday home invasion robbery and shooting death of a man in San Dimas after following him home from an electric vehicle charging station in West Covina – about 12 miles away.
Police captured Powell on Nov. 30 after the murder of Nicholas Simbolon, a county employee whose wife found him dead in his Tesla, parked in their garage.
The Los Angeles Police Department released this surveillance image of a potential suspect vehicle as city leaders warned a serial killer was targeting homeless people. The BMW was later linked to suspect Jerrid Powell, 33, in connection with a fourth murder – the follow-home robbery and shooting of Nicholas Simbolon. (LAPD)
They linked his BMW to the crime, and police pulled him over in Beverly Hills. After seizing a handgun from his car, they allegedly matched the weapon to the three other homicides, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore.
In the homeless murders, he allegedly approached sleeping victims in the early morning hours, shot them and walked away. FOX 11 Los Angeles identified two of those victims as Jose Bolanos and Mark Diggs. Police did not immediately release the name of the third victim, pending notification of his family.
By the time police announced a city-wide manhunt Friday, Powell was already in custody in connection with the Simbolon murder. Police said they were soon able to match the same weapon to all four crimes.
Powell faces charges, including four counts of murder, robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The famous Santa Monica beach at sunset on May 14, 2022. Suspected serial killer Jerrid Powell received a $700,000 settlement from the city after a personal injury lawsuit alleged that a Santa Monica Harbor Services Officer ran him over on the beach while responding to a call. (iStock)
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Simbolon's death is the fourth home invasion shooting in Los Angeles in under a month – including two in which concerned fathers opened fire on masked assailants to protect their families.
On Nov. 4, philanthropist Vincent Ricci exchanged gunfire with an armed intruder who rushed him from behind on his front porch. His home security system recorded the incident, however, he said his concealed carry permit was taken away after he defended his home, with his wife and daughter inside.
Three weeks later, on Nov. 27, a homeless woman forced her way into the home of Hollywood marketer and social justice activist Michael Latt and allegedly shot him in his living room. Authorities allege she was stalking the director A.V. Rockwell, a friend of Latt's. The 36-year-old suspect, Jameelah Michl, is being held on $3 million bail in that case.
HOMELESS SUSPECT IN HOLLYWOOD ACTIVIST MURDER WARNED ‘MY GLOCK IS LOADED’: COURT DOCS
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And Saturday morning, another Los Angeles dad opened fire on a trio of armed men who broke into his house around 5 a.m., killing one and likely wounding another, according to authorities. Police handcuffed him and took him in for questioning before ultimately letting him go.
"In one, the authorities took away the homeowner's concealed weapon permit and in the other the authorities cuffed the homeowner and brought him in for questioning but he was later released," said Jonathan Hatami, a deputy district attorney who is running to unseat his progressive boss, George Gascon, in next year's election. "Victims getting re-victimized while home invasion robberies continue to happen, and all we ever hear from Gascon is ‘crime is down.'"
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