CNN
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A resident of Los Angeles is suspected of shooting three men as they slept alone and unhoused. The suspect is expected to appear in court on Monday.
Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was arrested in connection with a separate case of fatally shooting a man during a robbery in San Dimas. Investigators connected him to the killings of the three men in Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore.
Powell is set to appear in court at 8:30 a.m. He is in detention pending the filing of criminal charges, police said in a release on Saturday.
Police believe the suspect walked up to the men and shot them as they slept on sidewalks or in alleys around Los Angeles, targeting some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, prompting the city to deploy hundreds of people to warn unhoused communities of the danger.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department/handout/AP
Jerrid Joseph Powell
The victims include two Hispanic men, ages 37 and 52, and a 62-year-old Black man. The killings occurred in various locations in Los Angeles, including one near Skid Row, a downtown area known for its large homeless population.
Investigators have yet to identify a motive in the killings.
A vehicle connected to the suspect in one of the killings has been linked to the other shootings, and a firearm found inside the car has been connected to all three shootings using ballistic evidence, police said.
Powell’s arrest was made possible due to automatic vehicle license plate scanners installed in the city of Beverly Hills, a form of sophisticated policing technology that has raised privacy concerns.
As authorities were still searching for a suspect, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s office deployed more than 400 people to warn unhoused people of the threat.
The mayor urged residents not to sleep alone on the city’s streets and to seek shelter, services, and support.
“This is a killer who is preying on the unhoused,” Bass warned.
CNN’s Josh Campbell, Sarah Moon, and Raja Razek contributed to this report.
