Texas man accused of series of California homeless beatings

LOS ANGELES — A "violent predator" arrested on suspicion of carrying out a series of attacks against seven mainly homeless men in Southern California, brutally beating them and killing three, also faced investigation in the disappearances of two of his relatives in Texas, authorities said Tuesday.

Ramon Escobar, 47, who was believed to be homeless himself, likely targeted his victims to rob them, Los Angeles police Capt. William Hayes told reporters.

Hayes called Escobar a "violent predator" and said investigators believe he drove to California from Houston and attacked the men in Los Angeles and Santa Monica beginning Sept. 8, Hayes said. Detectives seized a wooden baseball bat and a pair of bolt cutters believed to have been used as weapons, he said.

Escobar was arrested Monday in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica after a man sitting on a sidewalk was beaten unconscious and robbed of some of his possessions, police said. That victim remains in coma.

Police will ask prosecutors on Wednesday to charge Escobar with three counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder, officials said.

He's being held without bail, and it wasn't immediately known if he has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.

Escobar is a person of interest in the disappearances late last month of 60-year-old Dina Escobar and her brother, 65-yearold Rogelio Escobar, Houston police said in a statement.

Dina Escobar's burned van was found in Galveston, Texas, a few days after she went looking for her brother. She was last seen Aug. 28, two days after her brother disappeared, the statement said.

Ramon Escobar is their nephew, and Texas authorities said they want to talk to him.