Gelacio Ramirez, 22, was murdered after a violent sequence that began in Riverside County and ended in Long Beach, California. On July 31, 2012, Ramirez was shot in the back of the head and struck with a sledgehammer during an initial assault at a Mira Loma home on September 7, 2012; he survived that attack but was then kidnapped by a group of four men. The men drove him to Long Beach, where they continued to beat and torture him, eventually strangling him, placing his body in a vehicle trunk, and shooting him again before abandoning him in an alley. A passerby found him and called 911; Ramirez died the following day.

Four men—Jose Duenas, Christopher Arevalo Ramirez, Rafael Antonio Portales, and Rafael Bravo—were convicted on charges including second-degree murder and kidnapping and later sentenced to 16 years to life in state prison. A witness who recorded the vehicle’s license plate helped police locate the suspects. If anyone has information about Ramirez or the events that led to his death, please come forward.