San Diego police early Friday detained a person in the investigation of a spate of deadly attacks on homeless men – shortly after finding.
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San Diego, California police are “confidant” they have arrested the serial killer of homeless men after they previously arrested and freed another man they had believed was a strong suspect in the case.
Police arrested a suspect Friday in connection with a spree of assaults that wounded five homeless men, three fatally, in various San Diego neighborhoods over the last two weeks. She said she was confident they had the right person, “after receiving a thorough briefing from our homicide unit”, and knowing “the amount of physical evidence they have collected today and throughout this entire investigation”. Following the arrest of Guerrero, Zimmerman said she believed that he “The suspect responsible for these vicious crimes”.
Another homeless victim in a separate attack was struck with an unknown object thrown by someone on a bicycle near 13th and A streets around 4 a.m. Friday. Before dawn on July 4, a 61-year-old homeless man in the city was found bleeding, with trauma to his upper body, and he was hospitalized in critical condition. San Diego police have detained a person in the investigation of attacks on homeless m.
Police say the victim attacked Friday is expected to survive. Numerous estimated 9,000 homeless who inhabit San Diego County at large sleep in and around the downtown area because of ready access to shelters and social services there.
He faces three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of arson in the attacks that Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman called the worst she has seen in her 34 years in law enforcement.
The 55-year-old victim of Friday’s attack suffered severe trauma to his upper body and was assaulted while asleep, a pattern of violence consistent with previous incidents.
Friday’s detention comes after the July 7 arrest of another man suspected of carrying out the attacks on transients, setting two of them on fire. Police concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute him. The 53-year-old died before his body was set on fire.
The fourth victim of the serial killer, Dionicio Derek Vahidy, 23, was first repeatedly stabbed in his chest and back and then the attacker placed a burning towel of the homeless man’s chest.
This week, police released a composite rendering of the assailant, base on input from a witness to the first attack.
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Capt. David Nisleit tells KNSD-TV (http://bit.ly/29DwrxF ) that the person was detained early Friday after a new attack on a sleeping man.
