Suspect in L.A. killings sought by HPD
Nephew fled after relatives disappeared
A deadly three-week crime spree aimed at sleeping homeless men in the Los Angeles area began within days of the prime suspect fleeing Houston, where California authorities say investigators were grilling him in the mysterious disappearance of his aunt and uncle, Dina and Rogelio Escobar. Ramon Escobar was apprehended Monday after a brutal baseball bat beating that morning in Santa Monica that left a victim in a coma. The 47-year-old suspect, who worked as a mover in the Houston area, has since been linked to three deaths in seven separate assaults in Los Angeles and the neighboring beach city.
Los Angeles Police Department Capt. William Hayes said Escobar “fled the state of Texas” shortly after Houston police questioned him in the missing persons case on Aug. 30. He drove about 1,500 miles to California and arrived on Sept. 5. Three days later, Hayes said the bludgeoning attacks he is accused of started along the idyllic Santa Monica beach and in downtown Los Angeles.
“From what we can gather, he traveled I-10 to Los Angeles,” Hayes said.
The suspect was living with his relatives at a home in the 3700 block of Prudence Drive in south Houston when the two vanished, Hayes said. Escobar’s uncle, Rogelio Escobar, was last seen at their southwest Houston home on Aug. 26 and his sister, Dina, vanished on Aug. 28 when she set off to find him. A Texas EquuSearch team found her burned-out van the following weekend near a Galveston beach.
On Tuesday morning, the Houston Police Department acknowledged that
Escobar was a person of interest in his family’s disappearance and that “our investigators want to speak with him.”
The agency declined to offer further comment after Los Angeles police officials disclosed the circumstances leading to his arrival in California during a news conference.
During the briefing, Hayes and Santa Monica police Capt. Wendell Shirley detailed the timeline of Escobar’s alleged crimes, including how his “distinctive gait” led to his apprehension.
Escobar is believed to have targeted his first victim as he slept on the beach just before 7 a.m. on Sept. 8. The victim was hospitalized with blunt force trauma to his head, investigators said. He has since been released but “has no recollection” of what happened to him.
On Sept. 10, in the same area, Escobar allegedly battered another man. The victim remains in a coma, Shirley said.
Three more men were attacked with a wooden baseball bat around 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 16 while sleeping on a sidewalk in downtown Los Angeles. Two of the victims died, police said. The victims were identified as Kelvin Williams, 59, and Brandon Ridout, 24.
The suspect allegedly struck again on Sept. 20 by battering Steve Cruze, 39, to death as he slept under the Santa Monica Pier. His family said Cruze was not homeless and sometimes slept under the pier before work, according to local reports.
The final victim in the crime spree was bludgeoned around 7 a.m. on Sept. 24 and remains in a coma, Shirley said. Each of the victims suffered similar injuries and Shirley said Santa Monica investigators believe Escobar is behind the four incidents.
The captain cited “textbook” police work for what led to Escobar’s capture shortly after the morning.
An “astute uniformed officer” with Santa Monica police recognized Escobar as the wanted man after spying his unique walk from surveillance footage released after the double slaying.
In a crime alert issued by Los Angeles police after the fatal attacks, investigators noted that “the suspect walks extremely bow legged.”
Escobar now faces three mur der and four attempted murder charges for the crime spree. Hayes declined to reveal what Escobar said to investigators after his arrest.
He stopped short of calling Escobar a serial killer during the news conference and characterized him as a “violent predator” instead.
The baseball bat allegedly used in most of the attacks was found in Escobar’s car, Hayes said, while Santa Monica police separately found a pair of bolt cutters used in the final assault.
Escobar picked homeless people due to opportunity, rather than animosity, Hayes said. In the Los Angeles incidents, he was captured on a security video rifling through the victims’ clothing.
“The motive in most of these cases was robbery,” Hayes said. “Although they were homeless individuals, he was homeless himself.”
The brunt of Escobar’s criminal is tied to the Houston area. In May, he was convicted of assault after punching his boss at a Houston-area moving company, said Connie Williams, Escobar’s lawyer in the case. The November 2017 fight started when Escobar’s truck failed to start.
“It wouldn’t start. The person who was moving got angry and they got into a fistfight,” Williams said, describing Escobar as a muscular man.
During the news conference, Hayes said Escobar was imprisoned in Texas from 1995 to 2000 for burglary. He said the suspect, a native of El Salvador, had been previously deported.
“He applied for asylum that may have been granted,” Hayes said.
Harris County District Clerk’s Office records show Escobar as a U.S. citizen.