21-Year-Old Man Sentenced for 2007 Shotgun Killing on Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation

TUCSON—Gerardo Benito “Benny” Ramirez, 21, of the Pascua Yaqui Indian Tribe, was sentenced on Wednesday by visiting Senior Judge John C. Coughenour to 210 months for second-degree murder.

Ramirez had been charged with the Jan. 1, 2007, murder of Gabriel Frias, also a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Ramirez pleaded guilty to the crime on March 22, 2011. He was originally charged as a juvenile in this matter, but was transferred to adult status for prosecution of this case.

“The death of Gabriel Frias was shocking and senseless, and I hope that this result will bring a measure of peace to his family and friends,” said U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke. “I commend the decision to try this defendant as an adult, and for the diligent work that went into this investigation and prosecution”

During the early morning of January 1, 2007, the victim and several of his friends and family were at a New Year’s Eve party. According to court records, a friend of Ramirez went to the party and began to vandalize a truck parked outside by breaking the windows of the vehicle with a baseball bat. When people from the party came out to confront the vandal, the defendant walked over from a nearby house and fired a shotgun three times into the crowd of partygoers and then ran away. Gabriel Frias died at the scene.

It appears that the defendant did not know the victim, and had originally planned to shoot someone else. When asked why he ultimately killed Frias, the defendant stated, “First come, first served.”

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pascua Yaqui Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Tom Simon, of the District of Arizona, Phoenix, and Wallace H. Kleindienst and Gordon E. Davenport, III of the District of Arizona, Tucson.

CASE NUMBER: CR-01411-CKJ -GEE

RELEASE NUMBER: 2011-138(Ramirez)