Who is Jerrid Joseph Powell? What we know about the suspect arrested for killing 3 homeless men in LA

A 33-year-old Los Angeles man named Jerrid Joseph Powell has been identified as the prime suspect in the murders of three homeless men that took place last week in L.A. The slayings prompted police to issue regional alerts about a ‘serial killer’ preying on people living on the streets across a stretch of 12 miles from South Los Angeles to downtown LA’s northern parts.

The suspect was described as a man driving around in a dark-colored sedan. While searching for the said person, LAPD came across a man who was already in custody for another murder linked to a robbery in San Dimas, a suburb in L.A. The shooter was identified as Jerrid Joseph Powell, and his profile matched the suspect’s descriptions obtained from all three homicide scenes.

X user @JLRINVESTIGATES shared Jerrid Joseph Powell's LinkedIn profile, which shows him working as a Community Service Coordinator in Fontana, California.

Powell was arrested by Beverly Hills police on Thursday, November 30, after his dark-colored sedan was pulled over. Michel Moore, the LAPD Chief reported that officials also found a handgun in his car which they believe was used in the murders.

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What is known about Jerrid Joseph Powell so far and how he supposedly committed the murders

Police said the homeless men were purportedly killed by Jerrid over four consecutive days from Sunday, November 26 till the following Wednesday, November 25. Chief Michel Moore identified the three victims as 37-year-old Jose Bolanos, 62-year-old Mark Diggs, and an unnamed 52-year-old man.

Bolanos was found dead Sunday near the junction of 110th Street and South LA’s Vermont Avenue. Diggs was shot and killed Monday at around 4:45 a.m. at Mateo Street’s 600 Block near the L.A. River. The unnamed man was found dead on Wednesday around 2:30 a.m. near Pasadena Avenue and Avenue 18, north of downtown.

Police stated Jerrid trekked to San Dimas on Tuesday, November 24, between the killing of Mark Diggs and the third victim. He killed Nicholas Simbolon, a 42-year-old county employee and father of two during a home invasion in the suburb. A motive behind the murders of the homeless men is yet to be identified by the police.

Moore said all three victims were men and were sleeping in open areas. He described one of them as being ruthlessly and brutally killed while asleep on a couch on the street. Another was shot as he was leaning against a wall. The third victim was fatally shot while he was sleeping on a sidewalk.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Jerrid Joseph Powell supposedly followed Nicholas Simbolon from an electric vehicle charging station for 12 miles to his home. At first, he robbed Nicholas of what is described as some personal belongings before shooting him and fleeing the scene.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detained Jerrid Joseph Powell on a $2 million bond. Robert Luna said:

"The next objective is to put this guy away, at minimum, forever because he doesn't deserve to be out on the street.”

A controversial license plate scanner was used by the police to identify Jerrid’s car. Luna described the scanner as an automatic plate reader system with the help of which Beverly Hills Police matched the license plate on Jerrid’s car to the suspect’s.

Further details about this case and Jerrid Joseph Powell have not yet been shared. Police asked the general public to come forward if anyone had any information about Jerrid, including the crimes he might have committed.