A bitter custody battle appears to have spilled into the street in San Diego’s Grant Hill neighborhood, ending in a double killing early Monday while three young children sat nearby in a parked vehicle, according to homicide detectives.
Ruben Chavez, 31, and Evelyn Virgen, 28, were found shot on the 100 block of 27th Street. Virgen’s three children were discovered unharmed inside a nearby vehicle. Later that day, Border Patrol agents detained 25-year-old Princess Perez and 21-year-old Ramses “Rex” Morales at the San Ysidro port of entry, and San Diego police arrested the pair in connection with the shooting.
Court records point to a custody dispute
Court filings reviewed by CBS 8 suggest the violence grew out of a tangled family-court fight between the two couples. Reporters at the Times of San Diego say the two households together share nine children and that multiple custody actions appear in the case file.
Police and prosecutors have not made the full set of family-court records public while homicide detectives continue to build their case.
Arrests, arraignment and charges
On Monday, Border Patrol agents stopped Perez and Morales at the San Ysidro port of entry. After interviews with San Diego Police Department homicide detectives, the two were booked into custody, officials told 10News. Local reports state the victims and suspects had been involved in an “ongoing dispute” before the shooting.
Hoodline reported in detail how the pair allegedly tried to cross back into the United States before being taken into custody, with suspects arrested after border re-entry.
Investigators, evidence and legal stakes
Prosecutors have filed murder-related complaints against both defendants, and 21-year-old Morales faces special-circumstance allegations and child-endangerment counts tied to the three youngsters found at the scene, according to NBC 7. The outlet reports Morales may face the death penalty.
Deputy District Attorney Martin Doyle told NBC 7 that “We have alleged in the complaint two special circumstances, one of which is multiple murders,” and investigators say they are still working to match physical evidence to the two suspects.
Perez and Morales entered pleas at their initial court appearances and remain in jail while the district attorney’s office reviews the evidence and potential penalties.
Neighbors and the children’s custody
Neighbors told the Times of San Diego that the 27th Street block is usually quiet, and said the sound of gunfire in the early-morning dark rattled the area. As detectives combed the crime scene, residents built a small memorial near where Chavez and Virgen were killed.
Virgen’s relatives are now taking steps to have her three children released from protective custody, while reporters note that the vehicle where the kids were found has been impounded as evidence.
What investigators want
Detectives are still tracking witnesses and additional leads. Anyone with information is asked to call the San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477, according to local coverage.
Prosecutors say they are waiting on autopsy findings and forensic reports. As those results come in and investigators lock in more physical evidence, additional charges or sentencing enhancements could be added as the case moves through the courts.
