Grand jury to consider homicide charges

A Clovis grand jury on Friday will be asked to decide if three juveniles accused of murder should stand trial as adults.

A fourth juvenile charged with murder in the Nov. 14 slaying of Marcos Ramirez, 26, may also face adult sanctions, but he remains under medical care and in the custody of his guardians, Assistant District Attorney Jake Boazman said.

“We had 10 days to file notice of attempt to seek adult sanctions … now we have 10 more days to get in front of a grand jury,” Boazman said.

“Because it’s a first-degree felony, I think we’d be hard-pressed not to seek adult sanctions. But also, with the strict timelines, we needed to make this decision now. We can always change later (and try suspects as juveniles).”

A different timeline is in place for determining charges the fourth juvenile could face since he’s still under medical care, Boazman said.

Ramirez’s death occurred after he met with the four juvenile males – age 15 to 16 – allegedly in an attempt to sell them a gun. Police reports show the gun deal “went bad” and three people were shot.

Ramirez died soon after he was shot in the suspects’ car and pushed out onto the parking lot at Hilltop Shopping Center. One of the boys was shot in the arm and a second juvenile – the driver of the suspects’ car – was shot in the neck.

Records show a cousin of the victim who witnessed the incident may have shot the boys.

Boazman said no charges had been brought against the cousin as of Monday, but that could change.

“At this moment we’re not sure who shot who with the cousin having fired shots into the other vehicle. We believe at minimum two guns were involved. We are still looking at the trajectory of the bullets.”

Boazman said investigators are also looking into whether the cousin of the victim knew he was witnessing a potential gun sale to the juveniles, which is illegal in New Mexico.

“That will all play into the charging decision,” Boazman said.

The Major Crimes Unit is expected to meet sometime this week to provide prosecutors with additional information, Boazman said.

The violence began about 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 14, court records show.

The cousin of the homicide victim told police he waited in Ramirez’s car while he watched Ramirez get in the suspects’ car.

The cousin said he saw one of the boys “step out of the car, point a gun into the backseat, heard 3 shots and Marcos was then pushed out of the car onto the pavement,” court records show.

The witness told police he then began shooting in the direction of the boys. “The young males continued to shoot back towards him as he was checking on Marcos,” records show.

Investigators were told the boys had planned to rob Ramirez by paying him with fake bills, which were found at the scene.

The slaying marked Clovis’ fifth homicide this year.

The Eastern New Mexico News does not routinely name juvenile crime suspects unless they are charged as adults. The News also does not routinely name criminal suspects who have not been charged with a crime.