Simi gang member arrested in Torres murder
Second suspect picked up in connection with multiple stabbing
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.com

A suspected member of Varrio Simi Valley, a documented Simi Valley street gang, was arrested Saturday, March 17 and charged in the shooting death of 18yearold Luis Torres, who was found Jan. 26 in the area of Third Street and Ashland Avenue.

Daniel Ramirez, 23, of Simi Valley is being held in Ventura County Main Jail without bail. Simi police officers arrested Ramirez and Bill Hernandez, a resident of Quartz Hills, during a traffic stop on eastbound Highway 118 at Stearns Street at 3:58 p.m., according to police reports.

Traffic was stopped on both sides of the freeway for several minutes as Ramirez and Hernandez were taken into custody without incident. Per police procedure, several squad cars took part in the high-risk felony arrest.

According to Police Chief Mike Lewis, Ramirez is not a new face on the Simi Valley crime horizon.

"(Ramirez is) a longstanding gang member known to our folks working the gang unit," Lewis said. "He's been involved, and is suspected to be involved, in other crimes that have occurred in the city."

Once Simi investigators were able to determine the late-night shooting was gang-related, police were able to search in a much smaller pool for a shooter, Lewis said.

"He was one of a small number of people they were looking at," the police chief said.

Coincidentally, Hernandez, the passenger in Ramirez's vehicle, was wanted in connection with a stabbing that occurred Aug. 21, 2006, in Simi, the police said. In that case, the victims, two Simi Valley men ages 16 and 21, sustained wounds to the chest, arm and shoulder.

"It was a coincidence (Hernandez was in the vehicle), but I guess you could read into it that the type of individuals these guys are, it's not really a surprise they congregate together," Lewis said.

Hernandez is being charged with two felonies: assault with a deadly weapon by means likely to produce great bodily injury and commission of a felony for the benefit of a street gang. He is currently being held at Ventura County Main Jail with bail set at $125,000.

Lewis said police intended to make the high-risk felony arrest at Ramirez's home in the 800 block of Ventura Avenue. Instead, a change in circumstances forced law enforcement to go to Plan B.

"We had them under surveillance for some time, and then when we were getting ready to make an arrest, (Ramirez) got in a vehicle and left," Lewis said. "We ended up making the stop once we had sufficient officers on the scene."

Lewis said Simi PD contacted California Highway Patrol to notify them of the stop and their desire to halt traffic.

A search warrant was served at Ramirez's home following his arrest in connection with the ongoing murder investigation. When officers were in the area, 25-year-old Ian O'Neill of Simi Valley was spotted and taken into custody on a parole violation, police said.

Ramirez, Hernandez and O'Neill are all suspected members of VSV.

Ramirez, who is being charged with seven felonies in addition to the primary charge of murder, is set to be in Ventura County Superior Court on April 2 for arraignment. Hernandez's next court appearance is set for March 29.

Both suspects could face stiffer penalties if the motivation for their crimes was gang related, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's office.

During their investigation, Lewis said, police determined that Torres was not an active gang member.

"He was sort of the victim of circumstance," Lewis said. "He certainly could have been on the periphery of some known gang members, but was he identified as a hardcore gang member? No."

Lewis said this type of violence is not typical of Simi Valley gang members.

There are two documented street gangs currently active in the city.