A suspect has been arrested in connection with an alleged motor vehicle theft incident that escalated into murder earlier this month, but three other suspects in the case are still at large.
Marco Antonio Ramirez, 24, was reportedly gunned down in the early hours of November 14 as he tried to confront the individuals who had allegedly stolen his father’s truck. His younger sister Karla had seen the thieves drive off with the red Chevrolet used to support their father’s remodeling business.
As Marco’s brother Juan Ramirez recounted to WFAA, Karla called 911 and Marco as she followed the stolen truck in her own vehicle throughout East Dallas. Marco maneuvered his truck to cut the suspects off, confronting them in the 5300 block of Parry Avenue. He was fatally wounded when the suspects opened fire.
“Those were the longest moments of my life — screaming for help,” Karla said. “I felt so helpless, and I was just seeing the person I really love leave me. He saw me one last time, and then his face went blank. I was lost — I didn’t know what to do anymore.”
The Dallas Police Department, hampered by a longstanding officer shortage, has faced an uphill climb to curb the city’s surge in motor vehicle thefts, a type of crime that is notoriously difficult to solve. The DPD currently has just 3,200 officers despite a City analysis recommending an ideal staffing level of 4,000.
Its average response time for auto thefts in progress, which is considered a Priority 2 call, is currently 107.5 minutes, a far cry from the department’s response target goal of 12 minutes.
A fingerprint left on the stolen truck, which was abandoned shortly after Marco Ramirez was murdered, led Dallas police to make an arrest a few days later.
Alejandro Deleon, 30, is in Dallas County jail, charged with murder. His bond was set at $750,000, according to jail records. Three other suspects — two male and one female — are still being pursued by police, leaving the Ramirez family eager for justice.
“We have a lot of faith in God, but at the end of the day, they’re still out there breathing while my brother is gone,” Karla said, according to WFAA.
DPD is urging anyone with information about Marco’s shooting, which occurred in Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2, to contact its detectives.
Downtown Dallas has been seeing significantly more stolen vehicles and other types of crime than Fort Worth’s downtown area, which has a dedicated police unit working in conjunction with private security guards to keep the neighborhood safe.
According to DPD’s crime analytics dashboard, 16,915 motor vehicle thefts have been reported in Dallas as of November 24. This marks a 41.2% increase from last year. Meanwhile, the murder rate is also up, with 220 murders and non-negligent homicides clocked, for a year-over-year increase of 12.2%.