Suspected LA Serial Killer Was Accused in ‘Senseless’ Death of California Father Amid Homeless Killing Spree

A man accused of the recent shooting deaths of three homeless people in Los Angeles has also been charged in the "senseless" death of a father of two children, according to police.

Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, is accused of murdering Nicholas Simbolon, a 42-year-old husband and father of two young children, at his home in San Dimas on Tuesday, authorities said.

On Saturday, authorities said he's also suspected in shooting deaths of homeless men on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday that police feared could be the work of a serial killer.

The sheriff's department said Powell entered Simbolon's garage and robbed him of some personal belongings, then "senselessly shot the victim and fled the crime scene." Authorities believe Powell followed Simbolon home from an electric vehicle charging station, per local reports.

Law enforcement in Beverly Hills on Wednesday spotted a vehicle believed to be associated with the murder in San Dimas — a 2024 Gray BMW. A gun was found and confiscated from that vehicle as well, police said.

“Mr. Powell was identified as being responsible for the senseless killing of Nicholas Simbolon, a husband and father of two young children at his home in San Dimas this past Tuesday,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore said Saturday at a news conference.

He was booked in that case early Thursday for robbery and murder and is now being held on a $2.1 million bond.

Authorities then linked Powell’s vehicle to the murders of at least two of three homeless people who were shot dead last week while they were sleeping. Two victims were Hispanic, while the third was Black, police said.

"Each of the victims were in an open area, be it a sidewalk or an alley, they were alone," Moore said earlier. "From the information we have gathered to this point, we believe a single individual approached each one and shot and killed each one as they slept."

Authorities haven’t established a motive for the alleged murders, Moore said.