Rockim Prowell is accused of luring men to their deaths in California after meeting them on an online dating app, prosecutors in California say.
They've charged him with the murders of two men.
According to The New York Post, he's the same man who was accused in 2021 of wearing a "creepy white face mask" to perpetrate dozens of burglaries in the California area.
Fox 11 previously published photos allegedly showing Prowell camouflaging his race by looking like a white man with glasses by donning the rubber face mask during serial heists.
“Imagine the terror and horror these victims felt after being duped into believing they were meeting for one reason, only to face inexplicable violence,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a news release.
“These were predatory acts that showed a total disregard of life. This suspect has now been stopped in his tracks because of the diligent and tenacious work done by investigators at both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”
"A 34-year-old man was charged today with murdering two men and attempting to kill another after meeting the victims via an online dating app," the Los Angeles County District Attorney wrote in a separate statement.
"Rockim Prowell...of Inglewood was charged in case 25CJCF05804 with two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders," wrote the DA.
"He also faces one count of attempted murder, two counts each of carjacking and second-degree burglary and one count of assault with a deadly weapon," prosecutors continued.
On July 20, 2021, Miguel Angel King, 51, "met up with Prowell after the two men talked on an online dating app," the news release says.
"Prowell is accused of fatally shooting the victim and stealing his car. King’s vehicle was found more than a week later several miles from Prowell’s home. Forensic evidence recovered from the vehicle linked Prowell to the slaying," it adds.
King’s remains "were found on Aug. 14, 2021, in the Angeles National Forest."
On August 21, 2023, Robert Gutierrez, 53, and Prowell "agreed to meet at a location about a mile from Prowell’s home. Both men had interacted on the same online dating site," added the release.
Two days later, Gutierrez’s family "reported him missing. His body has still not been located. When investigators arrested Prowell last week, they found Gutierrez’s car in the defendant’s garage. Additional evidence linked Prowell to the killing of Gutierrez," prosecutors added.
On February 22, a 40-year-old man and Prowell "connected on the same online dating app and met about four miles from where Prowell lived," added the release.
Prowell "allegedly bound the victim, stole his wallet and beat him with a baseball bat. The victim managed to escape but Prowell chased the man in a vehicle, striking him and breaking his leg," the news release said, adding that Prowell "is currently on probation in two separate cases for a series of burglaries he committed in the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles areas between 2019 and 2021."
If convicted as charged, Prowell "faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole," wrote prosecutors.
"A decision on whether to seek the death penalty will be made a later date. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney John Lewin of the Cold Case Unit of the Major Crimes Division and remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau," wrote the DA.