New details surrounding the attempted aggravated kidnapping of a Mercedes man that turned fatal are revealed through a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Monitor.
The document states that Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to 6833 Vera Lane in rural Mercedes early Thursday morning at 3:46 a.m.
Deputies made contact with the victim, Juan Ramirez, 19, who told police that two masked men armed with rifles showed up at his house and pointed a rifle to his head.
“One of the men pushed a gun against the back of [Ramirez’s] head with the butt of the rifle causing the rifle to go off and strike the second male subject,” the complaint said.
Police interviewed Ramirez’s friend, Joe Anthony Valdez, who said that two girls and three armed men showed up while at Ramirez’s house.
“One of the men pushed a gun against the back of his head and put him into a truck face down,” the complaint said. “He heard a gunshot. The men then told him to get out of the truck and walk away slowly or they would shoot him.”
Valdez added that he saw one of the girls take a red 2014 Ford Fusion belonging to his friend.
Deputies then received word that the perpetrator who had been shot arrived at the Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, so police responded to the location only to be told that he, 19-year-old Carlos Garcia Ruiz, was pronounced dead.
“Investigators later observed two female subjects identified as Rosalba Sarahi Garcia Ruiz and Joselyn Lomeli arrive at [the] location and state that they dropped off Carlos at the hospital after being shot in the head,” the complaint said.
Garcia and Lomeli were interviewed separately where they admitted to their involvement in the aggravated kidnapping attempt planned by Carlos.
Both women were arraigned Friday on a murder and tampering with evidence charges.
They are being held at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on $1.1 million in bonds.
On Friday, the sheriff’s office announced two more arrests in the case, 21-year-old Ashley Dinhora Evelin Orozco and 19-year-old Esmeralda Lee Orozco.
The both made first appearances at the court in the county jail on Saturday on charges of murder and tampering with evidence.
They both received a total in $1.1 million in bonds, according to a Saturday news release.
According to a news release from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, Ramirez was also charged and booked into county jail after it was found that he was in possession of a controlled substance.
