Pretrial motions got underway Tuesday in the case against Johnny Ramirez, the 34-year-old Escondido man accused of fatally stabbing 24-year-old Cathedral City resident Ricardo Gallardo during a street confrontation nearly six years ago. The hearing, held ahead of jury selection, comes as the case moves toward trial. Gallardo died the night of Nov. 23, 2020, at Desert Regional Medical Center after the stabbing in the area of Avenida Del Yermo and Ramon Road.
Ramirez and co-defendant Edgar Navez, a 33-year-old Desert Hot Springs resident, are each charged with first-degree murder along with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon during a felony, according to KESQ. The Cathedral City Police Department reported that the two men confronted Gallardo in the street that evening and that, during the ensuing struggle, Ramirez and Navez pulled knives, prompting Gallardo to try to run away.
A Deadly Chase Caught Partly on Camera
Security cameras recorded part of the alleged assault, capturing Gallardo running with the defendants close behind him, the station's report states. Prosecutors allege the two men stabbed Gallardo multiple times, mainly in the stomach. Witnesses called 911 after hearing the commotion, and patrol officers arrived within minutes, but Gallardo was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where he died that night.
The case initially stalled as investigators worked to identify who was responsible, per the same account. A break came when a store clerk spotted a mobile phone that Navez had allegedly dropped while fleeing on foot. The clerk pointed it out to patrol officers, who seized it and turned it over to homicide detectives.
Phone Video Allegedly Placed Ramirez at the Wheel
A search warrant authorized investigators to access the phone's contents, where they allegedly found video showing Ramirez driving with Navez in the passenger seat roughly eight minutes before the attack. Other videos on the device allegedly showed Navez and Ramirez posing with handguns and displaying gang signs, according to the KESQ report.
Ramirez was arrested without incident in Escondido on Aug. 8, 2023, and pleaded not guilty two days later at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, as previously reported by KESQ. Navez, by contrast, allegedly fled before authorities could serve his warrant and has been at large ever since, with his whereabouts still unknown.
Case Had Already Cleared a Preliminary Hurdle
Case Had Already Cleared a Preliminary Hurdle In March 2024, a judge found sufficient evidence to hold Ramirez to answer on the murder charge following a preliminary hearing, according to MyNewsLA. That outlet also reported that the search warrant for the phone found near the scene determined it belonged to Navez. A separate KESQ report had previously indicated Ramirez's trial was set to begin on Dec. 2.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Matthew Perantoni received prosecution and defense motions this week concerning scheduling, witnesses, evidence and other matters as the case heads toward trial. The hearing was expected to continue Wednesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, with jury selection potentially beginning the same day, per the KESQ report. Navez remains unaccounted for, leaving Gallardo's family to watch one chapter of the case finally move forward while the search for the second defendant continues.
