The man accused of killing four people, including three homeless men, in Los Angeles won a $700,000 settlement against Santa Monica earlier this year after a cop car ran over him while he was lying on the beach, according to officials.
The Santa Monica City Council in June approved the settlement to Jerrid Powell after he filed a negligence lawsuit against the city. A city spokesperson told Law&Crime that Powell was on the beach in a six- to eight-inch deep ditch in the sand in 2019 when a patrol vehicle responding to a fire ran over him. Powell, 33, said he suffered severe injuries.
Powell sits in an LA jail, charged with four counts of murder. He briefly appeared in court Monday but did not enter a plea.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the first murder happened on Nov. 26 around 3 a.m. in the southeast area of the city. The suspect walked up and killed 37-year-old Jose Bolanos, said Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore at a Friday press conference. On Nov. 27, Powell allegedly killed again, this time murdering 62-year-old Mark Diggs around 4:45 a.m. Then, Powell is accused of killing a 52-year-old man in the Lincoln Heights area on Nov. 29. He has yet to be identified.
“Each of the victims were in an open area, whether it be a sidewalk or an alley,” Moore said. “They were alone.”
Authorities have not released a motive for the slayings.
Accused serial killer Jerrid Powell allegedly killed four people in four days in Los Angeles, according to authorities. Three of the victims were homeless men throughout LA, as shown here in this map. The fourth victim was killed after Powell allegedly followed him home and shot him to death during a robbery in Los Angeles County. (Los Angeles Police Department)
Detectives noted that surveillance video captured the same car, and a man with the same physical characteristics appeared at all three scenes.
The realization that a serial killer was on the loose and targeting a vulnerable population set off a mobilized effort with more than 400 city officials and social service organizations to alert homeless people of possible danger. Shelters were opened. Police put together a task force of investigators to hunt down the suspect.
But the suspect had already been arrested for a separate, unrelated murder. The LA County Sheriff’s Office was investigating a homicide that occurred on Nov. 28, where Powell allegedly followed Nicholas Simbolon for more than 10 miles from an electric car charging station to his home in San Dimas, where he robbed and shot Simbolon to death as he got out of his car, according to LA County Sheriff Robert Luna. The father of two was found by a family member who called 911.
LA County Sheriff’s detectives identified a suspect through surveillance video of a vehicle belonging to Powell, authorities said. They put out an alert to other law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the car. On Wednesday night, officers with the Beverly Hills Police Department spotted Powell’s vehicle and arrested him after a traffic stop, police said.
By Friday night, LAPD detectives realized Powell was driving the same car as the one they were looking for in the murders of the homeless men. A ballistics test of the gun in Powell’s vehicle confirmed it was used in all four murders, Moore said. Detectives are investigating a motive. Officials from LAPD and the sheriff’s office announced the arrest at a press conference Saturday.
“I am grateful that this suspect in this case is in custody and will be held accountable for his actions,” Moore said.
Authorities are investigating whether Powell, a convicted felon, may have been involved in other killings. He’s at the Los Angeles County Jail without bond.
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