LOS ANGELES — A man who was deported six times and is now suspected in a string of killings and beatings that targeted sleeping homeless people in Southern California was charged Wednesday with murder, attempted murder and robbery, authorities said.
Authorities say suspect Ramon Alberto Escobar has a long criminal record in the U.S. and has been repeatedly deported to his native El Salvador.
Escobar, 47, is charged with three counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder and four counts of second-degree robbery.
He also faces special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder during the commission of a robbery, making him eligible for the death penalty.
Meanwhile, police in Houston want to talk to Escobar again about the disappearance of his aunt. He was not a suspect when he was first questioned Aug. 30, Houston police spokesman Kese Smith said.
Investigators spoke with Escobar because he was one of the last people to see Dina Escobar, 60, before she vanished in late August.
Authorities say they found no outstanding warrants and released Ramon Escobar before the three men were beaten to death in California.
Escobar said at the time that he was in the country on a work visa, Smith said, a claim echoed by family members.
Immigration status is checked by Houston police only when a person is being booked into the city jail after being charged with a crime, Smith said.
Escobar, believed to be homeless himself, likely targeted victims to rob them, Los Angeles police Capt. William Hayes said.
Detectives have seized a wooden baseball bat and bolt cutters that they believe were used to bludgeon men on the beach or on the street in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, police said. All but one of the men were homeless.
Escobar was being held without bail. U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials have filed a detainer seeking to take him into custody if he is released, the agency said.
Escobar has six felony convictions for burglary and illegal reentry, the agency said.
Records in Texas show Escobar has had arrests for vehicle burglary, trespassing, failure to stop, public intoxication and two assaults, most recently in November 2017. That case was a misdemeanor.