Angel Ramosramirez, 31 of Santa Maria, was sentenced to a total of 42-years to life in prison for a 2021 knife attack and a 2022 murder, both committed in the South County. Submitted photo
A Santa Maria man convicted of murder last September received a life sentence for his crimes, the District Attorney’s Office announced last week.
Angel Ramosramirez, 31, was sentenced to the maximum of 42-years to life in prison for the 2022 gang-related second-degree murder of 20-year old Daniel Diaz and in a separate trial last January for a 2021 knife assault on a teenager.
Judge Jesse Marino handed down the sentence on April 29, D.A. Dan Dow said.
On the murder conviction, Dow said, “The jury also found true that Ramosramirez committed the murder for the benefit of the West Park criminal street gang and that Ramosramirez used a knife in the killing.
“The West Park criminal street gang operates primarily in Santa Maria.”
The evidence proved that Diaz of Oceano “was stabbed 10 times by Ramosramirez during the early morning hours of June 4, 2022, on a street in Oceano,” Dow said.
After the guilty verdict, the judge also determined that Ramosramirez “had sustained a 2016 Santa Barbara County conviction for making criminal threats for the benefit of the same criminal street gang. The 2016 conviction qualifies as a ‘strike’ under California’s Three Strikes Law.”
The assault case was also heard by Judge Marino and determined that Ramosramirez was “also guilty of assault with a deadly weapon,” Dow said. “The Judge also found true that Ramosramirez used a knife in the assault and inflicted great bodily injury on a 19-year-old victim in that case.”
In an unusual move, prosecutors put both the murder and assault charges under one criminal complaint (indictment). But the judge ordered they be tried separately “to protect the defendant’s due process rights.” The murder charge went first.
At the assault trial, Ramosramirez who was already convicted of murder, waived his right to a jury trial, and Judge Marino decided his fate.
According to the evidence Ramosramirez stabbed an unidentified teenager (who was 19 at the time) in the chest at a party in Nipomo on Sept. 4, 2021. That crime happened some nine months before the Diaz murder.
The ADW conviction included a determination that Ramosramirez, “personally inflicted great bodily injury on the young victim of that stabbing.”
D.A. Dow commented, “Violent gang predators like Ramosramirez who prey on people of our community belong behind bars for life — today’s maximum sentence of 42-years to life delivers the swift justice our community demands.
“Victims of violent crime deserve our unwavering protection and a justice system that honors their rights above all. Our office stands with them, partnering with law enforcement to ensure predators face the full consequences.”
Under California’s sentencing laws, Ramosramirez must serve the 11-year assault sentence first. After that he would begin serving 31-years to life for the murder conviction. But there’s no telling how much time he will serve.
“Due to continual revision of California law,” D.A. Dow said, “we cannot predict when the defendant might be eligible for release from prison on parole.”
The County Sheriff’s Department investigated the cases with help from the Santa Maria Police Department, San Luis Obispo PD; the Highway Patrol; SLO County Probation Department; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Both cases were prosecuted by Dep. D.A. Gregory Devitt. Victim services were provided by Victim Advocate Sonia Valencia. Witness Coordination services were provided by Witness Coordinator Kellie Navarro.
