On November 27, 2023, at approximately 4:45 a.m., 62-year-old Mark Diggs was fatally shot in the head while preparing to sleep on a sidewalk near 696 Mateo Street in Los Angeles. Diggs, who was experiencing homelessness, had just parked his shopping cart and was plugging in his phone when an unidentified assailant approached and shot him.
Diggs was the second victim in a series of shootings targeting homeless individuals in Los Angeles during late November 2023.
The first victim, 37-year-old Jose Bolanos, was found dead from a gunshot wound around 3 a.m. on November 26 in an alley in South Los Angeles. The third victim, a 52-year-old man, was discovered on November 29 near Avenue 18 and Pasadena Avenue in the Lincoln Heights area.
On December 2, 2023, authorities arrested 33-year-old Jerrid Joseph Powell in connection with these murders. Powell was initially detained for the November 28 shooting death of 42-year-old Nicholas Simbolon during a home robbery in San Dimas. Investigators linked Powell to the murders of the homeless men through surveillance footage and ballistic evidence. A firearm found in his vehicle matched the weapon used in all four killings.
Powell has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder, among other charges. Authorities have not yet determined a motive for the killings but noted that the victims were attacked without provocation while they were alone in open areas. The swift identification and arrest of Powell involved collaboration across multiple law enforcement agencies and the use of surveillance technology.
