Homicide Suspect Arrested Nearly 3 Years After CatCity Killing: Cops

CATHEDRAL CITY, CA — A 30-year-old man suspected in the 2020 killing 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 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 injured.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed by Hanley, Gallardo was found with multiple stab wounds to his abdomen area.

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.

"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)."

According to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant filed by Hanley, an employee working at a business across the street from the altercation heard the commotion and immediately called to check on his father who was nearby before checking the cameras and seeing two suspects running on Avenida Del Yermo, past his business, and toward Aliso Road.

The employee then walked out to the street to see what happened and saw a group of people where Gallardo was on the ground, according to Hanley. He also saw a black phone on the sidewalk in front of the business where the two suspects were seen running.

An additional video was obtained from Palm Springs Pest Control, which caught the suspects chasing down, catching, and attacking Gallardo before fleeing the scene, Hanley said. A search warrant for the phone determined it belonged to Navez.

In 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, according to Hanley. Other videos also allegedly showed Navez and Ramirez posing with handguns and flashing gang signs.

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.