UPDATE (11:07 a.m.): The man has been identified as Ralph Eric Ramirez.
————————————————————————
A man wanted in connection with a vehicle theft was found dead Wednesday after allegedly firing multiple shots at a bail bondsman and toward an occupied Arby’s restaurant earlier this month, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said.
Deputies responded to reports of shots fired at about 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, at the Arby’s located at 5275 S. Palo Verde Road in the San Xavier District. Investigators say a 54-year-old man engaged in a physical altercation with a bail bondsman who was attempting to take him into custody. The suspect then discharged a firearm multiple times at the bondsman and in the direction of the occupied restaurant while fleeing. No injuries were reported.
Detectives later obtained an arrest warrant charging the man with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, prohibited possession of a firearm and multiple counts of endangerment. On Wednesday, April 15, members of the Sheriff’s Fugitive Investigations Unit located the suspect at a residence and obtained a search warrant.
While SWAT personnel were securing the perimeter to serve the warrant, officers heard a gunshot from inside the home. When they made entry they found an adult male deceased. The sheriff’s department said the injuries are consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The identity of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, and the investigation remains ongoing.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department asked anyone with additional information to contact its Public Information Office at (520) 237-3740 or pcsdpio@sheriff.pima.gov.
