3 More Slayings May Be Tied to 4 Transient Deaths

A gunman suspected of killing four transients in recent weeks as they slept on the street in downtown Los Angeles may also be responsible for three other recent murders elsewhere in the city, police speculated Tuesday.

While none of the three new murder victims was described as homeless, their deaths bore certain similarities to those of the four transients, leading detectives to include all seven in the same investigation, said Los Angeles police spokesman Cmdr. William Booth.

Killed on Street

All seven men were killed on the street early in the morning, Booth said.

“We are certainly not saying, nor are we in a position of saying, that (the three new cases) are connected to four (transient deaths) that RHD (Robbery-Homicide Division) initially took over,” Booth said. “But because they were shot and killed on the sidewalk in the early morning, there was a decision today that RHD would take them over.”

Police identified the three new victims as:

- Rodolfo Roque, 54, shot and killed Sept. 4 at Venice Boulevard and Clarington Avenue near Culver City. Roque, who lived in San Diego, was visiting a friend in the area in the hours before he was slain, Booth said.

- Marshall Singer, 66, shot Sept. 20 on a sidewalk in the 5700 block of West Olympic Boulevard in the Mid-Wilshire District. He was a resident of the area.

- Leon Gaines, 56, shot Sept. 30 on a sidewalk at 31st Street and Broadway near the USC campus. He lived in South-Central Los Angeles.

Booth would not discuss the nature of the men’s wounds or the weapons that were used.

However, other sources close to the investigation confirmed that at least one of the three, Gaines, had been shot in the head with a small-caliber gun.

The four transients were all killed in the same manner, detectives have said.

Message of Caution

Detectives intensified their search for the gunman in the past week. Flyers cautioning the homeless to seek shelter at night, or to band together in groups if they slept outdoors, were passed out at Skid Row agencies and public places where transients congregate.

The killer is described in flyers circulating along Skid Row as being a tall black man, weighing between 150 and 170 pounds, with a medium-to-large Afro hair style.

The investigation is being handled by Detective Lt. John L. Zorn, 39. The detective is also heading a police-sheriff’s task force that is searching for the so-called “Southside Slayer,” a serial killer or killers believed responsible for the deaths of at least 17 women, most of them prostitutes, in South-Central Los Angeles. The first killing dates back to November, 1983.

The bodies of the four transients were found in out-of-the-way places throughout the downtown area. The most recent victim, Christopher Corrales Boyle, was discovered shortly after 2 a.m. on Sept. 29 in the 300 block of North Hill Street, near the Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial monument and the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters.

The first transient victim, Rogelio Sirven, 31, was found in a brushy area in the 300 block of North Hill Place on Sept. 13.

An unidentified man, believed to be in his mid-20s, was found in the 400 block of North Spring Street in Chinatown. On Sept. 21, the body of David Townes, 36, was found in the 200 block of West 18th Street, near the Santa Monica Freeway.

The recent rash of unsolved murders is not the first time that transients have been the targets of a killer in Los Angeles.

In 1984, “Skid Row Stabber” Bobby Joe Maxwell was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted for the slayings of two transients.

In 1975, police arrested “Skid Row Slasher” Vaughn Charles Greenwood after he terrorized downtown transients, cutting their throats as they slept in alleys and other public areas. Suspected in at least 13 deaths, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 32 years to life in prison.