A 30-year-old man suspected in the 2020 murder of a 24-year-old man in Cathedral City was behind bars Thursday while police remained on the lookout for a second suspect.
Johnny Ramirez of Escondido in San Diego County, and 31-year-old Edgar Navez of Desert Hot Springs were each charged with one felony count of murder with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a weapon during a felony, according to court records. Ramirez pleaded not guilty to the charge Aug. 10 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Officers responded shortly before 7 p.m. Nov. 23, 2020, to a report of a man down in the area of Avenida Del Yermo and Ramon Road, according to Detective Sgt. Nate Hanley of the Cathedral City Police Department. Upon arrival, officers found Ricardo Gallardo of Cathedral City, an injured assault victim.
Gallardo was subsequently taken to the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where he subsequently succumbed to his injuries, Hanley said. A homicide investigation began and by August 2023, it was presented to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office.
“The Riverside County District Attorney’s office filed the case with the Superior Court of Riverside and two arrest warrants were issued for the arrest of the suspects in this case,” Hanley wrote in a statement. “Through the investigation, CCPD Detectives were able to identify the two homicide suspects as (Ramirez and Navez).”
Ramirez was found and arrested Aug. 8 in Escondido, in northern San Diego County, according to Hanley. Navez, who is described as a 5-foot-10-inch man weighing 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes, has a $1 million warrant for his arrest.
According to inmate records, Ramirez was booked into the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta, where he remains held on $1 million bail.