AUTHORITIES have announced the arrest of a suspect who they believe may have gone on a killing spree across Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore identified him as convicted felon Jerrid Joseph Powell.

Who is Jerrid Joseph Powell?

Jerrid Joseph Powell is the 33-year-old prime suspect in the homicide of three Los Angeles unhoused men and another murder that occurred in San Dimas, California, according to police.

Powell is reportedly a convicted felon with a history of violent crimes.

“Based on his criminal history, he didn’t just start doing this a week ago,” LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

Not much else is known about the suspect, but authorities are encouraging the public to relay more information.

“We want to make sure that anybody who may have been a victim of this individual that they come forward and notify your own police department,” Luna added.

Why was he arrested?

Powell was arrested on charges of murder and robbery.

The police believe that he was responsible for three shootings of unhoused men carried out on three different days in various parts of Los Angeles.

There’s reportedly a pattern in the way he murdered them.

“The commonalities among these homicides are that each of the victims was in an open area, alone,” Moore explained.

“We believe a single individual approached each one and shot and killed each one as they slept.”

Powell is also the key suspect in the murder of Nicholas Simbolon, a 42-year-old Los Angeles County employee.

He allegedly followed Simbolon home from an electric vehicle charging station.

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After robbing him of “some personal belongings,” the police believe that Powell proceeded to shoot him.

Authorities noted that Simbolon was a county employee and part of the IT staff.

“He was a prolific developer who had recently completed an innovative IT system to process our county’s budget process,” Kathyrn Barger, a member of the county Board of Supervisors, said at a press conference.

“His coworkers describe him as a kind, gentle, and hardworking person.”

To identify and track Powell, investigators used an automatic license plate reader system.

They collected a weapon inside his car and “positively identified” it as the weapon used in all four shootings, according to Moore.

“Had they not had those access to those tools, this individual, I am convinced, would still be moving about the city, in the region, and killing individuals, innocent individuals, helpless individuals,” he said.

What did the police say about the murders?

According to Chief Moore, Powell’s murders had been “senseless.”

“It was chilling and I’ve been in this work for four-plus decades.

“The cold-blooded manner in which he walks up and shoots this individual without any hesitation, no interactions.”

The police said that Powell was “preying on the unhoused” and left “a path of destruction behind him that we have not yet determined.”

The city of Los Angeles had created temporary shelters for the unhoused and bolstered security in areas where they usually sleep.

“We need you to tell them about this danger, we need you to tell them they’re not alone tonight,” said Mayor Karen Bass.

“Our message to the unhoused community is clear; do not sleep alone tonight, seek shelter, seek services, stay together.”