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OC Task Force Sets Up Roadblock To Try And Catch Serial Killer Targeting Homeless

PLACENTIA (CBS) — Police set up a roadblock Tuesday night to try and catch a killer who's targeting homeless men in Orange County.

It's a very targeted operation to try to illicit information from people in the area who may have seen something on the night 53-year-old James McGilivray was murdered. He was one of three homeless men in Orange County who've been fatally stabbed by, what police suspect, is one killer.

An army of detectives, officers and FBI agents set up a roadblock canvas on a busy Placentia street and questioned drivers. The initiative was scheduled from two hours before the time of the crime to about two hours after, on the same night of the week.

Roadblock
(credit: CBS)

"The main goal is to get information from the public. It may be small to them, but it's big to us," a member of the multi-agency task force said.

Many residents said they appreciated the measures being taken.

"I think it's a good thing because nobody knows who did it," said resident Michael Alvarez. "So, you don't mind getting stopped -- no, not at all."

Police also passed out fliers of a white Toyota Corolla, parked near the crime scene, that could be connected to the killer.

That same car, however, was not seen at the subsequent murders on Dec. 28 in Anaheim and Dec. 30 in Yorba Linda.

Detectives are hoping for any information to stop the killer before he strikes again.

"He's an extremely dangerous individual," a detective said. "We definitely think this is something that has the potential to continue and we want to prevent that from happening."

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