LA homeless serial killer suspect had just got $700k settlement from Santa Monica after suffering serious injuries when beach patrol officer ran him over during fire - and 'used some of cash to buy murder weapon and getaway car'

The suspect accused of gunning down four random strangers in Central LA Last week may have paid for his murderous spree with a $700,000 settlement from local police, authorities have revealed.

Jerrid Powell has been charged with the murder of four men, three of them homeless, between November 26 and 29.

The 33-year-old is thought to have snuck up on his homeless victims while they were sleeping in the street, and followed dad-of-two Nicholas Simbolon, 42, to his home in San Dimas before gunning him down in his garage.

Now it has emerged that he may have paid for his car and his weapons with money he was awarded by the City of Santa Monica after a patrol officer ran over him in 2019 while he was lying on a beach.

'The City settled the lawsuit claiming negligence after a Santa Monica Harbor Services Officer, after responding to a call reporting a fire on the beach, rolled over the plaintiff who was laying in a six to eight-inch-deep ditch in the sand,' a city spokesperson confirmed in a statement.

Police arrested Powell in Beverly Hills on Thursday after spotting his BMW which was caught on camera near the scene of Simbolon's murder on Tuesday.

Police believe he followed the LA County project manager from an electric-vehicle charging station in West Covina and 'senselessly' shot him at his home 12 miles away before he could get out of his Tesla.

Simbolon's wife found his body and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

A handgun found in Powell's car was then found to match that used in the killing of the three homeless men, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said.

Powell was described as 'vicious' after he was convicted in 2018 of assault with a deadly weapon in San Bernadino County for which he was sentenced to three years of probation.

In May 2019, LAPD announced they had overhauled their fleet of beach vehicles after a separate incident in which they had run over a woman on a beach.

A 36-year-old called 'Aurora' spent three days in hospital with broken ribs after she was run over by a 'full-sized police truck' while lying on the sand at Venice Beach on Easter Sunday.

'In response to the incident, Chief Michel Moore directed the immediate requisition of new vehicles and vehicle safety enhancements in preparation for the Memorial Day Weekend,' the LAPD said in a statement at the time.

Powell filed his lawsuit in 2020 alleging negligence before the city agreed his settlement earlier this year.

He had already tried to sue a landlord for $3.3 million with a handwritten lawsuit in 2019 alleging he had been the victim of intentional emotional damage and sexual harassment, before a judge threw out the case.

Jose Bolanos, 37, was found shot dead in a South LA alley at about 3am on November 26.

Mark Diggs, 62, was shot and killed in the downtown area at 5am the following day while he was pushing a shopping cart.

And a 52-year-old homeless man whose name has not yet been released was gunned down at about 2.30am on November 29 in the Lincoln Heights area.

Powell appeared in court on Monday for an arraignment hearing where he was charged with four counts of murder, one count of residential robbery and one count of being a felon with a firearm.

He did not enter a plea and is due back in court on January 8.

LA County Sheriff Robert Luna defended the use of the contentious license plate reader which has been challenged by civil liberties groups but which identified Powell's car.

'We know there's controversy out there about the usage of this system, but let me tell our community something,' he told a press conference after the arrest.

'If we did not enter that plate into the system, this individual that we believe is responsible for at least four murders may have been out there and reoffended.

'The next objective is to put this guy away at minimum forever, because he doesn't deserve to be out on the street.'