Thread: 2 charged with murder of man who defended grandpa

2 charged with murder of man who defended grandpa

By The Associated Press
5:26 p.m., Jan. 17, 2012

LOS ANGELES — Two men have been charged with capital murder in the death of a man who came to his grandfather's aid during a robbery in Los Angeles.

Prosecutors say 22-year-old Evin Ortiz and 29-year-old Rene Ramirez are being held without bail Tuesday on charges that include special circumstance murder, attempted murder and second-degree robbery.

Police say 68-year-old Manuel Flores was walking to his Sun Valley house Jan. 9 along a poorly lit driveway when he was confronted by three men.

Robbed of his car keys, wallet and necklace, Flores yelled and drew the attention of his grandson Danilo Morales as the thieves made off in his vehicle.

Police say Morales gave chase and was shot and killed when he approached a side window.

Police are still seeking a third suspect.

2 charged with murder of man who defended grandpa | UTSanDiego.com

UPDATED: Two arrested in North Hollywood slaying of man, 24, who came to grandfather's aid in robbery

By Dana Bartholomew, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/16/2012 01:22:09 PM PST
Updated: 01/16/2012 07:07:38 PM PST

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of killing a North Hollywood man who'd chased the thugs who had robbed his grandfather, police announced Monday.

Murder charges are expected to be brought today against Rene Ramirez, 29, of Mission Hills, and Evin Adonis Ortiz, 22, of Valley Glen.

Detectives were searching for a third man in connection with the Jan. 9 slaying of Danilo Estuerdo Morales.

"It's great. We're happy about it. I want these men to go to trial," said Morales' cousin, Jose Avila, 28, of Van Nuys. "We're still sad. We're still shocked. But this still brings some closure to the family."

Morales was shot in the 8100 block of Coldwater Canyon Avenue after he chased three men who'd robbed and then fired at his grandfather, 68-year-old Manuel Flores.

They'd just grabbed Flores' gold chain and wallet, when he'd screamed from his backyard for help.

Morales had dashed out of the house and followed the trio to a white SUV on Willard Street. He was shot in the head as he approached the driver's window.

Police said two of the alleged attackers, Ramirez and Ortiz, were being held at Valley Jail in Van Nuys without bail. The white SUV was also seized.

According to the sheriff's Inmate Information Center, Ortiz was arrested Thursday and Ramirez taken into custody the following day.

Police did not release the name of the suspect who remains at large. North Hollywood homicide detectives were not available for comment

Monday.

Police have said neither the robbery nor the murder was gang related.

News reports say both attackers were illegal immigrants who'd been deported at least once.

Records show Ramirez was a twice-deported illegal immigrant who spent six years in state prison for robbery, authorities told radio station KFI-AM640, which reported Ortiz was also in the U.S. illegally.

Ramirez, of Guatemala, was also billed as a reformed, Bible-toting gang member in a 2005 Los Angeles Times story. Known as "Demon," he said he'd pulled away from the gang after a bullet tore his gut open during a drive-by shooting.

He said he saw a life beyond the gang, arrests, drug addiction and suicide attempts.

"My battle is spiritual," he told the newspaper. "But I know God will help me."

Blinky Rodriguez, whose North Hills gang intervention group had been working to help Ramirez, said some simply do not make it.

"It just goes to show life's a struggle," said Rodriguez, executive director of Communities in Schools, who didn't know Ramirez. "People try to pull away from certain things, and get pulled right back somehow."

Morales, who was born in the U.S., had parents who hailed from Guatemala - the origin of his alleged killers.

"It's crazy," Avila said. "It's a small world. But I don't think it matters where they're from: a criminal is a criminal."

dana.bartholomew@dailynews.com, 818-713-3730

2 charged with murder of man who defended grandpa | UTSanDiego.com

News reports say both attackers were illegal immigrants who'd been deported at least once.

Records show Ramirez was a twice-deported illegal immigrant who spent six years in state prison for robbery, authorities told radio station KFI-AM640, which reported Ortiz was also in the U.S. illegally.

How shocking, the Obama administration told us that the borders are more secure than ever and the Obama has deported more illegal alien criminals than every before.

More rape and pillage illegal aliens gunning people down in America. Another average day here at ALIPAC.

W