A 31-year-old Escondido man suspected in the 2020 fatal stabbing of a young man will stand trial for murder, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Johnny Ramirez was charged with murder along with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a weapon during a felony, according to court records.
Following Ramirez’s preliminary hearing Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Elaine Kiefer ruled that there was sufficient evidence to proceed, according to Riverside County District Attorney Office’s spokesman John Hall.
A post-preliminary hearing arraignment was set for March 20.
Another suspect, Edgar Navez, 31, of Desert Hot Springs, who faces the same charges as Ramirez, remains at large.
Officers responded shortly before 7 p.m. Nov. 23, 2020, to a report of a man down, according to Detective Sgt. Nate Hanley of the Cathedral City Police Department. Upon arrival, they found Ricardo Gallardo, 24, of Cathedral City injured.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed by Hanley, Gallardo was found with multiple stab wounds to his abdomen. Gallardo was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where he died, Hanley said.
A homicide investigation began and by August 2023, it was presented to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. Two arrest warrants were issued for Ramirez and Navez.
Court papers shed more light on how investigators narrowed their search. An employee working at a business across the street from where the attack took place heard the commotion and, checking cameras, saw two suspects running past his business and toward Aliso Road.
The witness then walked out to the street and saw a group of people with Gallardo on the ground. He also saw a black phone on the sidewalk in front of the business where the two suspects were seen running.
A search warrant for the phone determined it belonged to Navez, Hanley said. On the cell phone, officers found a video that allegedly showed Ramirez driving a vehicle with Navez in the passenger seat eight minutes prior to the homicide.
Other videos also allegedly showed Navez and Ramirez posing with handguns and flashing gang signs.
Additionally, a video from Palm Springs Pet Control allegedly caught the suspects chasing down, catching and attacking Gallardo before fleeing the scene, according to Hanley.
Ramirez was arrested Aug. 8, 2023 in Escondido, according to Hanley. Navez is described as 5-foot-10-inches tall, weighing 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
According to inmate records, Ramirez remains at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta on $1 million bail.
– City News Service
