Ryan Thomas Sniffin, 20, of Joshua Tree was fatally shot on January 30, 2015, in La Quinta during what investigators describe as a botched drug deal in the Cove neighborhood. Court records say Sniffin went to buy an ounce of cocaine after his cousin Dylan Sniffin connected him with a contact, 17-year-old Jesse Keith Cottom, who had been met through juvenile hall. Cottom, along with Kenneth Michael Wilson, 25, and an accomplice, Miguel Ramirez, reportedly planned to substitute baking soda for the cocaine and then rob the buyer.

The three fled without taking money. Cottom and Wilson were arrested and charged with first-degree murder and attempted robbery, with firearm enhancements; prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty. In January 2020 a jury found both men guilty, and sentencing was set for February 11, 2020, with life terms possible.

Did anyone in the La Quinta area see activity on Avenida Ramirez that night or have information about the people involved?