Facebook Yvonne Raquel Ramirez and Josh McKinney.
A 19-year-old Texas woman has been arrested after police say she fatally shot her New Year’s Eve date during a botched gun theft.
Yvonne Raquel Ramirez, of Baytown, told police she acted in self defense when she shot 19-year-old Josh McKinney, an aspiring Marine, KHOU-TV reports. But police say Ramirez shot McKinney during an attempted robbery and then stole his wallet, leaving him for dead, KTRK-TV reports.
Ramirez was also shot during the struggle and was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Ramirez Shot McKinney After Demanding $2,000 for the Guns She Had Stolen From Him, Police Say
FacebookYvonne Ramirez.
Police say that Yvonne Ramirez had recently been spending time with Joshua McKinney and met him on New Year’s Eve for a date, according to court documents obtained by KHOU-TV. But investigators believe Ramirez’s actual intention was to rob McKinney, and she had hatched a plan to take money from him by stealing his guns.
“According to charging documents read in court, investigators interviewed a witness who said the victim went to his home and told him a Hispanic female who stole guns from him was there,” KHOU reports. “Prosecutors say the witness heard the victim on the phone with Ramirez, demanding she return his guns. They say the man attempted to gather $2,000 to get his guns back, got part of it and sent the suspect pictures of the money after which they arranged to meet.”
Police said Ramirez and McKinney met on Mizell Street in Harris County and things turned violent, KTRK-TV reports. A witness told police that he went to the meeting with McKinney, who told him he wasn’t going to get robbed again.
The witness said that during the meeting he saw McKinney put Ramirez into a neck hold and held a gun to hear head, KTRK reports. The witness told police that he ran to call 911 and heard gunfire moments later.
According to police, another witness said he saw Ramirez trying to “manipulate” McKinney’s body after the shooting. Police said blood evidence showed that Ramirez reached into the victim’s pocket to steal his wallet as he died.
Police said they found text messages on Ramirez’s phone in which she described to another person how she had stolen the guns from McKinney.
2. She Was Shot in the Shoulder & Told Police She Shot McKinney in Self Defense After He Falsely Accused Her of Stealing the Guns
Yvonne Ramirez.
Ramirez was shot in the shoulder during her encounter with McKinney, police said. According to court documents obtained by KHOU-TV, Ramirez claims she shot McKinney in self defense. She also denied stealing guns from him.
Ramirez told police she was “getting high” with him and McKinney accused her of stealing the weapons, but she denied it. She said they got into a fight and she grabbed a gun that he had tucked in the waistband in the back of his pants and shot him.
Ramirez first told investigators the gun dropped, fired and shot McKinney, but then changed her story, according to KTRK-TV.
3. Ramirez Wrote on Facebook the Day Before the Shooting That ‘Everything Is Falling in Place’ & Said She ‘Couldn’t Be More Blessed’
Yvonne Raquel Ramirez.
Yvette Ramirez wrote on her Facebook page on December 30 a message of hope for the New Year.
“Everything falling in place, i start my job monday, getting my car soon & then my apt ?? couldn’t be more blessed Thank you God ❤” she wrote, just two days before the shooting.
According to her Facebook page, Ramirez is a Baytown native. She wrote in her “Intro” section, “SINGLE Bkuz aint nobody loyal.”
In October 2017 she wrote, “It was my fault, I kept it 2 real ….”
According to her Facebook page, Ramirez is the mother of a young daughter.
4. She Was Charged With Murder & Is Being Held at the Harris County Jail on $50,000 Bail
Yvonne Ramirez in her mugshot.
After she was released from the hospital, Ramirez was charged with murder and booked into the Harris County Jail on $50,000 bail, records show.
It is not known if Ramirez has a prior criminal record. It is also not clear if she has hired an attorney and she could not be reached for comment.
Ramirez was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, January 3.
5. McKinney Was an ‘Amazing Young Man’ Who Was a ‘Standout Cadet’ at the Texas Challenge Academy
FacebookJosh McKinney, of Baytown, Texas, was killed on New Year’s Eve.
Josh McKinney, who also lived in Baytown, was an aspiring Marine, according to The Daily Beast.
He recently trained at the Texas Challenge Academy, a residential military academy operated by the Texas National Guard, The Daily Beast reports. He was called a “standout cadet” by one of his instructors.
“Josh was an amazing young man. He would give all he had to anyone he loved,” Willis told The Daily Beast. “This death doesn’t seem real…”
Another instructor, Alyssa Solomon, told the news site, “He always wanted to be a Marine. He really wanted to serve his country. He was someone everyone wanted to be around. He was a great kid and a great student, and I’m never going to forget him.”
