Trial proceedings underway for felon accused of killing man, burning body
Jury selection was expected to conclude early next week for the trial of a probationer accused of fatally shooting a man for making moves on his girlfriend at their Coachella residence, then later setting the victim's remains ablaze in a field in an attempt to cover up the crime.
Hector Ramiro Yamanaka Ruiz, 45, is charged with murder, arson, possession of an incendiary device, violating a domestic violence restraining order and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations in the 2022 slaying of 35-year-old Jesus "Jesse" M. Hernandez.
Jury selection got underway prior to the holiday break and resumed earlier this week at the Banning Justice Center, where Riverside County Superior Court Judge Francisco Navarro has presided over the screening of prospects.
The selection process is likely to conclude after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.
Ruiz is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney's Office, Hernandez was attacked in the predawn hours of July 14, 2022, at the house shared by Ruiz and his on-again, off-again girlfriend Daisy Cabrera Gil at 52798 Calle Leandro in Coachella.
Prosecutors allege that Hernandez and Gil were casual acquaintances and communicated via social media on the night of July 13, arranging to meet at the woman's house to smoke methamphetamine and possibly engage in sex acts.
Prior to Hernandez's arrival, Gil sent him a Facebook message saying Ruiz "might try to come around and cause problems,'' the brief stated.
Soon after Hernandez reached the house, he and Gil started a game of darts, smoking meth and toying with the idea of going to bed together, prosecutors said.
In a later interview with sheriff's detectives, Ruiz acknowledged having an argument with Gil that night, but said he believed it was a pretext to simply get him out of the house, and he left voluntarily, but was certain Gil had plans with another man and left a bedroom window unlatched to enable him to return, according to court papers.
The brief said Gil and Hernandez were in the middle of a darts game in her living room when ``Hector suddenly appeared from the hallway, pointing a silver-and-black (9mm) Glock handgun at Jesse.''
The defendant was incensed that the victim and Gil were openly discussing sex, and he fired six to seven shots at Hernandez, hitting him twice in the chest, killing him on the spot, according to the brief.
In his interview with homicide investigators, Ruiz claimed that Hernandez had reached for a handgun on the living room table just prior to the shooting.
Court papers allege that Ruiz then plotted how to get rid of the body, without objections from Gil. The defendant drove her to another house, then contacted his friend 58-year-old Ireneo Dominguez Lagunes, who agreed to assist in disposal of the remains, prosecutors said.
Ruiz loaded Hernandez's body into the back of the victim's Mazda pickup truck and headed to Thermal, with Lagunes trailing behind in Gil's Buick Encore, according to the prosecution.
The brief alleges that the two men stopped in a field in the 83-200 block of Avenue 60, where the pickup was set aflame by the defendant and Lagunes, who hastily departed in the Buick.
The property owner saw the fire before daybreak and called 911. County fire personnel discovered the burned body and summoned sheriff's investigators.
Using Hernandez's mobile phone and social media records, they were able to trace the final hours of his life and determine where and with whom he had been.
Ruiz was arrested two weeks later, along with Lagunes and Gil.
She pleaded guilty last year to being an accessory after the fact, as did Lagunes. Gil received a two-year state prison sentence. Lagunes is due to be sentenced at the end of the month.
Court records show that Ruiz has prior convictions for domestic violence, check fraud and receiving stolen property.
