Prosecutors say a suspect in the deadly shooting at an Albuquerque massage parlor needs to remain locked up because he is too dangerous to be free until his trial.
Surveillance video from the night of the shooting earlier this year was used to show how vicious Jorge Rivera-Ramirez was in robbing and killing Sihui Fang, the owner of Wonderful Massage.
Documents shown in court indicated Rivera-Ramirez and a partner, Juan Carlos Hernandez, went to the massage business in January to rob it, according to KOB 4. Fang pulled out a gun and fought back. Shots were fired and Fang was killed.
Rivera-Ramirez and Hernandez face a long list of charges, including murder.
Prosecutors told a judge that Fang was trying to escape when she was shot. “As you can see, your honor, she was trying to get out the front door, she was trying to leave,” an unnamed prosecutor said, pointing to the surveillance video. “She didn't care what happened to that massage parlor, what they took; she just wanted her life, and the defendant and the co-defendant did not care.”
Prosecutors argued that Rivera-Ramirez has other criminal charges pending. They believe that Rivera-Ramirez and Hernandez are to blame for a string of robberies at other massage businesses, KOB reported. “He was pending that charge as well as pending conditions of release when this case took place,” the prosecutor said.
A judge ultimately sided with prosecutors, ordering Rivera-Ramirez to remain in jail until trial. “Given the evidence that's been presented, it gives the court a great deal of concern regarding the defendant's capacity for violence,” the unnamed judge said.
Hernandez was also ordered to stay in jail before his trial starts.
