Man deported six times charged with fatally beating three men
LOS ANGELES — A man with a violent criminal history who was deported six times had no outstanding warrants when questioned last month about the disappearance of his aunt and so he was released, Houston police said Wednesday, when the man was charged in Los Angeles with the beating deaths of three men.
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.
His arraignment was expected in Los Angeles later in the day.
The 47-year-old Escobar 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, Houston police want to talk to Escobar again about the disappearance of his aunt. He was not a suspect when 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 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.
“We had no probable cause to arrest or book him,” Smith said.
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.