LOS ANGELES — The suspect in the three fatal shootings of homeless people in Los Angeles was identified as a man who was already in custody after being arrested earlier this week in connection with the murder of a San Dimas resident who was shot during a follow-home robbery, authorities announced Saturday.
The suspect — identified as Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33 — was formally arrested on Saturday for the killings of the three homeless men, who were shot while sleeping alone on a sidewalk or an alley.
Powell was already in custody for the San Dimas homicide that occurred Tuesday night during the follow-home robbery, police said.
In that case, Powell allegedly followed 42-year-old Nicholas Simbolon, an employee of the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office, from a charging station in West Covina to his home. There he robbed and shot him, then fled the scene, authorities said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said members of the Beverly Hills Police Department conducted a traffic stop of Powell’s vehicle Wednesday night, and Powell was arrested early Thursday. Luna said his vehicle was tracked down by one of the city’s automatic license plate scanners.
ABC 7 reported that a handgun recovered from Powell’s vehicle was the same weapon used in the three killings, according to Moore.
