Man deported six times charged in Calif. murders
LOS ANGELES — Amanwho had been deported six times was charged Wednesday in a string of killings and beatings that targeted sleeping homeless people in Southern California, 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.
His arraignment was expected in Los Ange- les 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.
It could not be immediately determined if he had an attorney.
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.
“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.
Escobar, believed to be homeless himself, likely targeted victims to rob them, Los Angeles police Capt. William Hayes said.