SAN LEANDRO — The victim of a recent homicide here may have helped police solve his own murder case by keeping a secret camera in his pocket, which captured his ex-girlfriend fatally shooting him in their living room, then attempting to destroy the device, according to investigators.
David Ramirez, 43, was shot and killed Aug. 20 inside the San Leandro home of 36-year-old Analleli Garcia-Mejia, who had previously lived at the residence with Ramirez. After the shooting, Garcia-Mejia reportedly called 911 to report that both she and Ramirez had been shot and pepper-sprayed during a domestic violence incident. When police arrived, Garcia-Mejia had a gunshot wound in her leg, but Ramirez was dead, authorities said.
It was a homicide scene with no eyewitnesses except for Garcia-Mejia, but when police took a look under the kitchen sink, the investigation took a turn. That’s where they discovered the hidden camera, and the footage spelled out exactly what had transpired that day when Ramirez showed up to the home. Now, Mejia-Garcia is in Santa Rita Jail on a no-bail hold, facing a murder charge, court records show.
Ramirez and Garcia-Mejia had previously dated, and had a 7-month old daughter together. He had looked forward to fatherhood and was optimistic about the future despite his rocky relationship with the child’s mother, according to online postings and court filings. A GoFundMe page for Ramirez says he was “passionate” about exploring on his motorcycle and spending time with friends and family.
“He lived an extraordinary life filled with laughter and love,” the page says.
He and Garcia-Mejia had lived previously together at the 16000 block of Carolyn Street in San Leandro, the same residence where Ramirez was killed. But Ramirez moved out after Garcia-Mejia called police and accused Ramirez of domestic violence last June 19, records show. She claimed that she had accused Ramirez of cheating and taken his phone, and that he’d responded angrily, by punching her, pulling her hair, and saying, “I’m going to kill you,” according to court records.
San Leandro police responded and took Garcia-Mejia’s claims seriously, but she told them she didn’t desire prosecution. Police noted several guns in the home, and Alameda County prosecutors later charged Ramirez with a misdemeanor count of improper firearm shortage. The case was still pending at the time of his death, court records show.
That’s why Ramirez had a hidden camera on him the day he was killed. Police said in court filings that he was worried of “false accusations” by Garcia-Mejia and would wear the device so in the future, it wouldn’t be his word against her’s.
The allegations Garcia-Mejia made against Ramirez last June were nearly identical to a police report she’d filed against an ex-boyfriend in 2012. In that instance, she accused her ex of tackling her and striking her several times after she accused him of infidelity. In that instance, he admitted to police that he’d hit her and she took a restraining order out against him, records show.
On the day of Ramirez’s death, police say there were not …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
