Casa Grande man arrested after shooting acquaintance giving him a ride

Victim says subject was "acting really paranoid and crazy, like he was on something."

On Wednesday, August 10, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office dispatch received a call just before 11:30 p.m. from staff at Casa Grande Regional Hospital indicating they were treating a patient who had been shot multiple times.

When deputies arrived on scene, they noticed a 39-year-old man had been shot twice,  once in each of his legs. Both wounds required surgery. The victim told deputies he was at his home in Arizona City when a man identified as Juan Gabriel Ramirez, 29, asked him for a ride to his home in Casa Grande.

The victim only knew Ramirez as "Gabe" and was actually friends with Ramirez’s brother, but agreed to give him a ride. As the victim attempted to stop at Loves Truck Stop off Interstate 10 for gasoline, Ramirez became paranoid and shouted to keep going. The victim told investigators Ramirez was, "acting really paranoid and crazy; like he was on something."

Without warning, Ramirez then pulled a semi-automatic hand gun and shot the victim once in the right leg.

The victim kept driving to Casa Grande, but as he approached a red light at the intersection of Pinal Ave. and McMurray Blvd., Ramirez again told him not to stop and shot the victim again, this time in the left leg.

After arriving at Ramirez’s mother’s home on the 18000 block of W Palm Ave, the victim stopped his vehicle and ran away from Ramirez. The victim called a friend who gave him a ride to the hospital for treatment.

Deputies were able to track down Ramirez’s brother through information given by the victim and positively identified that the suspect was Juan Ramirez. They also discovered Juan Ramirez had an outstanding felony arrest warrant for a parole violation.

When PCSO deputies went to the home on W. Palm Avenue they set up a perimeter and noticed the lights in the house were going on and off. After deputies yelled for Ramirez to come out, he stepped in the front doorway of the home and acknowledged their presence by saying, "I know, I know."  He then went back inside for a short period of time and came back out to surrender, at which point he was arrested without further incident.

Ramirez was taken to the PCSO Casa Grande substation where he told officers his stomach hurt because he had eaten a "teener" (1.75 grams) of methamphetamine while deputies were outside his home.

While in custody, deputies also notice Ramirez dropped a handcuff key from his pants. When asked about the key, he told deputies he was not aware it was in his pants.

 "Using methamphetamine can have severe consequences," Sheriff Paul Babeu said, "This case also reminds us how dangerous it can be for someone to be around a user under the influence. I hope this serves as a reminder to everyone to stay away from meth and anyone who uses it."

Ramirez has been charged with Aggravated Assault with a Weapon and will remain in PCSO custody without bond for his felony warrant.