Alleged Coachella Valley serial burglar faces more charges
A Palm Desert man already facing 15 felony charges stemming from a string of Coachella Valley home burglaries was charged today with an additional burglary, one of three new cases filed against him in the last month involving crimes he allegedly committed at residences throughout Palm Springs.
Joseph Foster Ramey, 26, is accused in a series of break-ins in Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Thousand Palms between May and July, leading to his arrest last month for alleged break-ins at homes in all three cities, as well as eight storage units at Storquest Self Storage in Palm Springs.
Ramey, who’s being held in lieu of $1 million bail, is now charged in several other burglaries during that same time period at homes throughout Palm Springs, during which he’s accused of taking a handgun, jewelry, credit cards, checkbooks and other items.
The gun, which was allegedly taken during one of several burglaries at the Riviera Gardens on Via Miraleste, was recovered late last month by Palm Springs police during the arrest of Ramey’s uncle, who allegedly tossed the gun onto a roof following an unrelated assault case, according to an arrest warrant declaration.
Ramey is charged with entering several units at the gated community and taking the gun, as well as other personal items and house keys to several units at Riviera Gardens.
Other new burglary counts stem from a May burglary of a home on Belardo Road, where he allegedly stole jewelry and other items after entering through an unlocked living room window. Property taken from other residential burglaries was also allegedly found inside the Belardo Road home, but Ramey told investigators that those items were his property and stolen from him while he was living in a building near the Belardo residence.
The newly added burglary count stems from a break-in at a home on Stone Terrace. The homeowner told police that a man had stolen jewelry, cash and checks, as well as a security camera that captured him in the act, according to the declaration.
Security footage from a separate camera revealed Ramey in the homeowner’s kitchen, and tattoos visible on his forearm helped identify him as the suspect, along with fingerprints lifted from an item at one of the burglarized residences, according to the declaration.
Ramey was arrested July 17 in Thousand Palms, the same day he’s alleged to have broken into a nearby home on Shady Palms Circle.
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