A convicted felon who gunned down a 30-year-old man during a confrontation in Moreno Valley, then fled to another city where he was apprehended, was sentenced Monday to 30 years to life in state prison.
Joe Miramontes Jr., 33, of Moreno Valley pleaded guilty in February to second-degree murder and a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation under a pretrial agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors dropped two related charges against Miramontes.
During a hearing Monday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Superior Court Judge David Gunn certified the terms of the plea agreement and imposed the required sentence.
Miramontes fatally shot Gilbert Ramirez on the night of Aug. 12, 2024.
According to Sgt. Lance Stoyer of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the defendant and Ramirez were involved in an unspecified dispute in the 24000 block of Bostwick Drive, near Cactus Avenue. During the encounter, Miramontes pulled a handgun and shot the victim multiple times, then fled the location, Stoyer said.
Deputies and paramedics arrived a short time later and pronounced Ramirez dead at the scene.
Central Homicide Unit detectives soon gathered undisclosed evidence confirming that Miramontes was the assailant and obtained an arrest warrant. Two days later, the defendant was located in a residence on Laurel Avenue in Pomona, where he was taken into custody without incident.
According to court documents, Miramontes had a prior conviction in Riverside County for making criminal threats.