Charles Thomas Ramirez Jr. Guilty of Murder in Shooting of Teen Changing a Tire: Update

A jury today convicted Charles Thomas Ramirez Jr. of first-degree murder for fatally shooting a teenager who was changing a tire in a Fullerton alley on St. Patrick's Day 2011.

The 36-year-old could be sentenced to 51 years to life in state prison at a Dec. 13 hearing.

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Charles Thomas Ramirez Jr. Was Either Told He Killed the Wrong Man or Acted in Self Defense

Ramirez's roommate was walking home from a Narcotics Anonymous meeting when two men in a Toyota Camry pulled up alongside him and demanded his cell phone, according to Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy.

The roommate ran home, dropping his phone along the way, and Ramirez suggested they go find it when he learned what had happened, McGreevy told jurors.

The pair reached a nearby alley where Ramirez confronted teen Larry Ruiz and his friend fixing a tire. Ramirez's roommate informed those weren't the guys who tried to steal the cell phone, but Ramirez punched Ruiz anyway and then fatally shot the teen in the head with a .22-caliber gun, the prosecutor said.

Ramirez's attorney, Sperry Tavoularis of the Alternate Defender's Office, tried unsuccessfully to convince the jury it was self defense.

Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!

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