Serial Killer Suspect Held Without Bail In LA Homeless Slayings

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man accused of fatally shooting three homeless men in Los Angeles and killing a fourth man in the garage of his suburban home over a four-day period last week is being held without bail.

Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, of Los Angeles, was charged Monday with four counts of murder and single counts of residential robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was set to be arraigned Monday, but the hearing was postponed to Jan. 8 and a judge ordered him held without bail.

Powell was arrested last week in Beverly Hills after police stopped his vehicle — which was linked to him after a Nov. 28 San Dimas shooting — and found a handgun inside. Police determined the gun was also used in the fatal shootings of three homeless men the same week, according to Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore.

Arrest Update: Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, is suspected of murdering three persons experiencing homelessness in the L.A. area. Detectives are seeking info on possible additional victims. Contact your local law enforcement agency with any information. pic.twitter.com/tLNfPwX7EA
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) December 3, 2023

Moore said the slayings began Nov. 26 at around 3 a.m. in the Westmont area near Watts, when Jose Bolanos, 37, was killed on the 800 block of West 110th Street.

Mark Diggs, 62, was killed at around 5 a.m. Monday on the 600 block of Mateo Street near the Arts District, Moore said.

Shawn Alvarez, 52, was killed at around 2:20 a.m. Wednesday at South Avenue 18 and South Pasadena Avenue near Lincoln Heights, police said.

"Each of the victims were in an open area, be it a sidewalk or alley, they were alone," Moore said last week. "We believe a single individual approached each one and shot and killed each one as they slept."

The day before Alvarez's killing, Nicholas Simbolon, 42, was found by his wife inside his Tesla in the garage of his San Dimas home. He suffered a gunshot wound to the upper body and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators used surveillance video to determine that Simbolon was followed home from an electric-vehicle charging station in West Covina before the suspect approached Simbolon in the garage, stole unspecified items and shot him, Sheriff Robert Luna said last week.

Luna said there was no known connection between the four killings and no known relationship between Powell and Simbolon, who worked as a project manager in the Los Angeles County executive office.

The Sheriff's Department believes there may be additional victims linked to Powell.

The charges against Powell include special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder in the course of a robbery, which could lead to a sentence of life without parole if he's convicted.

City News Service contributed to this report.