Suspect held in downtown baseball bat slayings of 2

Ramon Escobar is also being investigated in attacks on homeless men in Santa Monica and a case in Houston.

A man suspected of pummeling homeless men with a baseball bat in downtown Los Angeles last week, leaving two dead and a third critically injured, was captured by police in Santa Monica after allegedly committing a similar attack Monday morning, authorities said.

Ramon Escobar, 47, was arrested about 7:30 a.m. in connection with an attack that left a homeless man unconscious in the 1500 block of 7th Street, authorities said. About 30 minutes after the attack, officers saw a suspect, later identified as Escobar, in the 600 block of Broadway and arrested him, Santa Monica Police Lt. Saul Rodriguez said.

In a news release, the Los Angeles Police Department said Escobar had been booked on two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in connection with a series of brutal attacks on homeless men who were sleeping in downtown’s Financial District this month.

The victim in the Monday morning attack in Santa Monica appeared to be homeless and was either sitting or leaning against a wall when he was struck, Rodriguez said. It was unclear whether the victim was asleep at the time, or whether a robbery took place. No weapon was recovered, and it was unclear whether a baseball bat was used.

The victim, whose identity was not released, remained unconscious and in critical condition at a hospital Monday, Rodriguez said.

Escobar’s arrest came on the heels of attacks in downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica that left three dead and a fourth person critically injured. In each of the prior attacks, the victim suffered blunt force trauma to his head while sleeping outside, police have said.

Escobar is also wanted for questioning in the disappearance of two of his relatives in Texas, police said.

Around 4 a.m. on Sept. 16, a man smashed a baseball bat across the head and shoulders of a homeless man sleeping near 5th and Flower

streets in Los Angeles, the LAPD has said. The 59-yearold victim died of his injuries two days later, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Less than an hour later, the same person attacked two other homeless men sleeping on Flower Street near Wilshire Boulevard, police said. One victim, 20, also died of his injuries Thursday. The third victim was hospitalized in critical condition.

The victims’ identities have not been released, pending notification of their families.

Santa Monica police are also exploring the possibility that Escobar was linked to two beachside attacks on homeless men this month and the slaying of a man who was sleeping under the Santa Monica Pier last week, Rodriguez said.

On Thursday, beach maintenance workers found the body of Steven Ray Cruze Jr. around 6:40 a.m. The San Gabriel resident, 39, suffered massive head trauma after being attacked while he slept roughly 50 feet from the water, authorities said. Cruze’s family told The Times he often slept on the beach after overnight fishing trips, and worked on fishing cruises in the beach area.

It was unclear whether a baseball bat was used in Cruze’s death.

Rodriguez said police have not ruled out Escobar as a suspect in the slaying or in attacks on two homeless men who suffered blunt force trauma to the head in separate attacks near the beach earlier in the month. One of those men remains hospitalized in critical condition, Rodriguez said.

After receiving word of his arrest, Houston police officials told The Times that Escobar was also a person of interest in the disappearances of Dina Escobar, 60 and Rogelio Escobar, 65.

Houston Police Lt. Humberto Lopez said the two went missing last month. Rogelio Escobar was last seen near a convenience store in Houston on Aug. 26.

Dina Escobar soon got into her 2007 Chevy Uplander and went looking for her brother, and she hasn’t been seen since, Lopez said.

The charred remains of the van were found in Galveston, about 50 miles outside of Houston, a few days later.

“He was their nephew. We are looking to talk to him,” Lopez said. “We learned he was in L.A. Monday from detectives there with the arrest.”

Last week, the LAPD said it believed the suspect in the downtown attacks was also homeless and trying to rob isolated targets. He could be seen rummaging through the victims’ pockets on surveillance video, police said.

Two of the downtown assaults were caught on video, and two law enforcement officials told The Times that the surveillance images were key in linking Escobar to the slayings. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the case candidly.

A motive remains unclear, and Escobar refused to talk to investigators on Monday, one official said.

A news conference to discuss Escobar’s arrest has been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, the LAPD said.

“General” Jeff Page, a skid row community activist, said some community members had grown concerned that the attacks were racially motivated, because the victims in the downtown beatings were all identified by police as black men. Page said he was relieved to hear the suspect had been captured, but pressed for answers about a motive.

“We’re glad that he’s apprehended, so that lightens the focus and collective concern in terms of watching out for these random people with potential weapons,” he said. “At the same time, we’re looking forward to some type of post-arrest interview. Were these hate crimes? Were these anti-homelessness?”

james.queally@latimes.com richard.winton @latimes.com