Man Convicted Of Attempted Murder After Attacking Girlfriend With Tire Iron In Jurupa Valley

JURUPA VALLEY, CA — A Jurupa Valley man who severely beat his girlfriend with a tire iron while enraged, then snatched their year-old son and drove miles away, was convicted of attempted murder and other charges in a retrial for the offenses.

Late Monday afternoon, a Riverside jury returned verdicts — only two hours after starting deliberations — in the second trial for Armando Julio Alvarado Ramirez, 46.

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Along with premeditated attempted murder, jurors convicted Ramirez of sentence-enhancing allegations of using a deadly weapon during a felony and inflicting great bodily injury in an act of domestic abuse. They acquitted him of making criminal threats.

A different jury in September had deadlocked on those counts, leading to the retrial that concluded with closing statements Monday at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jerry Yang did not immediately schedule a sentencing date.

Ramirez is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center.

According to a trial brief filed by the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, the defendant and his girlfriend, identified in court documents only as "D.N.," had two children together, then 1-year-old Bradley and another child, identified only as a 6-year-old.

On the morning of Aug. 15, 2022, they were all riding in the family's 2000 Dodge Caravan to a bus stop in the 2000 block of Gail Drive, where the older child was dropped off. An argument erupted between the couple, whose relationship had been rocky for some time, and D.N. informed Ramirez that she intended to leave him, the brief said.

She then exited the vehicle, telling the defendant that she'd prefer to walk home with their son.

"Ramirez grabbed a tire iron and began to strike D.N., making contact approximately six to seven times," according to the narrative.

Before the critically injured woman could open the back door to the Caravan and grab Bradley, Ramirez sped away.

A passer-by heard her screaming and went to her aid, calling 911. The witness found a plastic chair and placed the victim in it before she passed out, according to the prosecution. Sheriff's deputies and paramedics arrived minutes later, finding D.N. "barely conscious with blood dripping down her face and all over her clothes," court papers said.

She managed to tell them who had assaulted her and describe the vehicle he was driving with the toddler on board. An Amber Alert was issued by the California Highway Patrol, notifying the public to be on the lookout for Ramirez and the Caravan.

The defendant drove to Ontario, where he ran out of gas and had to call his employer to ask for money to refill the tank. Afterward, he headed to Zapata's Mexican Food Restaurant in Moreno Valley, where he knew several people. He tried to sell them a car battery, but they declined, and he left, prosecutors said.

He stopped a short time later and parked outside a residence in the 22000 block of Ramona Avenue in Nuevo. When he saw a sheriff's patrol unit rounding the corner, he darted toward the house with his son, asking the occupant "if he could leave the child with them for a while," according to the brief.

He then stepped into the house and tried to hide, prompting the occupant to flag down the patrol car, culminating in Ramirez's arrest minutes later without incident. Bradley wasn't hurt.

During an interview with detectives, the defendant insisted that he did not strike D.N. until she slapped him, which caused him to lose his temper, the brief said.

The woman suffered a brain hemorrhage, three broken fingers and multiple lacerations. She spent months recovering.

Ramirez had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.