City police nab suspect in slaying; Investigators get help from public
 City police Tuesday arrested a suspect in a daytime shooting death, four days after announcing they were looking for him.
Police got a tip about the whereabouts of Jose Andrew Ramos Jr., 22, (pictured left) late Monday night, Lt. Todd Umstead said.
They immediately started watching a home in the 700 block of North Pine Street.
About 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, city police entered the house and arrested Ramos, Umstead said.
Ramos has been charged with killing Douglas K. Jones, 26, of Manheim Township, last week in the 100 block of Locust Street.
Police said Ramos and Jones knew each other and got into an argument shortly before noon Wednesday, April 7. Police said they did not know what the source of the disagreement was, but said it appeared to be "trivial."
The two men argued and fought physically. Ramos then pulled a gun from his waistband and shot Jones, whose nickname was "Run 'em." Jones was unarmed.
The incident was captured on surveillance cameras by Lancaster Community Safety Coalition.
Police asked Friday for the community's help in finding Ramos, when they announced the warrant for his arrest and released a picture of him.
They got it.
"We've had several tips and people calling us with information about where he might be and who he might associate with," Umstead said. "This one panned out and we were able to take him into custody without anybody being injured, and we have a murderer off the streets."
After getting the tip about the home on North Pine Street, police watched it throughout the night. The block is just off Harrisburg Pike, and a block from the Franklin & Marshall College campus.
About 8 a.m., officers saw a woman leave the house. Shortly afterward, a man left the house, Umstead said.
Police stopped and talked to both people. They learned that Ramos was inside the house, he said.
They entered the house and found Ramos sleeping on a mattress in the first-floor living room.
The man and woman stopped by police were interviewed again and released, with no charges being filed.
Detectives were interviewing Ramos Tuesday. He is being charged with criminal homicide and firearms violations.
Ramos, whose nickname is "Neff" or "Neffy," is a stocky man with tattoos in scripted writing on the backs of both hands. On the left is "Ruth" and on the right is "Kathy."
Police said they had what they believe to be the weapon used in the shooting. A resident in the 200 block of Howard Avenue found a handgun in a yard there, and it is being analyzed by the state police laboratory.
Court records show that Ramos has an arrest record dating back to when he was a juvenile, when he was charged with robbery, according to his arrest warrant affidavit. That made it illegal for him to possess a firearm.
As an adult, he also has been charged with receiving stolen property, theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief, defiant trespass, possession of a small amount of marijuana, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, according to court documents.
In December, he was charged with harassment for punching a woman in the jaw and slapping her in the face. A warrant was issued for his arrest on that charge in February, after a summons for him could not be delivered.
Court documents showed Ramos' last known address to be in the 500 block of Rockland Street.
Courtesy of Lancaster Newspapers, Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era
April 13, 2010
E-mail Cindy Stauffer: cstauffer@lnpnews.com |
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