Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was taken into custody by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. and faces murder charges for the alleged killings of three men, with suspicion of a fourth.

Powell allegedly shot and killed the homeless men as they were sleeping on sidewalks or alleyways. The additional person shot was Nicholas Simbolon, an L.A. County employee believed to be the victim of a follow-home robbery attempt.

Simbolon, 34, was followed to his San Dimas home after charging his vehicle in a West Covina station on Nov. 30. Simbolon was then shot and robbed as Powell allegedly fled the scene.

“The cold-blooded manner in which he walks up and shoots this individual without any hesitation, no interactions, and then leave that location… to follow home an individual, a young father of two, who’s simply charging his car,” LAPD Cheif Michel Moore said in a Dec. 4 press conference. “It was chilling.”

Powell was initially arrested for the Simbolon killing before investigators connected him to the homeless killings.

Beverly Hills PD found Powell using a license plate scanner. Powell’s vehicle description was on alert for local law enforcement and once spotted, he was subject to a traffic stop. Powell had a firearm in the vehicle, which investigators connected to the shootings of the homeless men, days leading to the arrest.

“We urge the public to be aware of your surroundings at all times, whether in a vehicle or walking down the street,” L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said in a press conference after the arrest. “We have all experienced being on autopilot while doing normal things like driving home, sometimes not realizing the last three turns into your neighborhood. It is important that if you believe, or suspect that you’re being followed, that you drive to a sheriff’s station or a police station. Do not go home.”

The unhoused individuals killed were 37-year-old Jose Bolanos, 62-year-old Mark Diggs and an unidentified 52-year-old man, all in the Los Angeles area.

Amid Los Angeles clearing homeless encampments, Mayor Karen Bass urged the homeless community to “seek shelter, seek services, stay together.”

The serial killings came a week after a separate set of serial killings in Pasadena, where the younger brother of former Lakers player Michael Cooper was killed. These shooting deaths also occurred in public areas, with the unhoused as victims.

Neither man arrested has been found to have a motive for the shootings.

Powell was held on $2 million bail and his arraignment was rescheduled for Jan. 8, 2024.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office formally charged Powell with four counts of murder, one count of residential robbery and one count of being a felon with a firearm. Additional special circumstances of committing multiple murders and murder in the course of a robbery, as well as personal use of a firearm allegations, were filed against Powell. If convicted, Powell faces life in prison without possibility of parole.

“I want to extend my deepest appreciation to the incredible men and women of law enforcement who worked tirelessly to bring justice to our community and arrest this individual,” District Attorney George Gascón said. “The swift actions of law enforcement undoubtedly saved lives this week.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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