Detained man suspected in killings of homeless

Anaheim, California (AP) Investigators are “extremely confident” a man in their custody is responsible for all four recent killings of homeless men, Police Chief John Welter said, bringing an apparent end to a month of worry and fear among the homeless and those who help care for them in these famously sunny and well-to-do suburbs of Los Angeles.

I nvesti gators sa i d on Saturday they tied the killings to Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, who was detained on Friday night after a fourth homeless man was found slain in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, said Welter, city of Anaheim police chief.

Witnesses and bystanders at t he crime scene chased Ocampo on foot, and he was captured by a police off icer who was part of a perimeter set up in response to dozens of emergency calls and other reports.

Three other homeless men have been f ound stabbed to death in north Orange County since midDecember, and a task force had been looking for the single suspect they believed was responsible for all three.

“We are extremely confident that we have the man that is responsible for the murders of all four homeless men in Orange County,” Welter said. “We plan to request from the district attorney that he be charged with four counts of murder.”

Neither Welter nor any of the other police chiefs, FBI agents or political officials who spoke at the news conference would give any i nformation on the evidence against Ocampo, or any suspected motive.

Ocampo i s being held without bail and appear in court next week, Welter said.