A second suspect was charged Thursday in connection with the fatal early morning shooting of a man during an attempted robbery in a residential area of Long Beach.
Felipe Zermeno Ramirez, 27, of Long Beach, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in a Long Beach courtroom, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Ramirez and co-defendant Jose Santiago Garcia-Linares, 25, are each charged with murder in the Oct. 12 killing of Thomas Mello, along with the attempted robbery of Mello and two other people, the robbery of a fourth victim, conspiracy to commit robbery and driving or taking a vehicle without consent, according to the criminal complaint.
The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery, along with allegations that the two each personally and intentionally discharged a handgun.
The District Attorney’s Office is expected to decide later whether to seek the death penalty against the two.
Ramirez — who allegedly has two prior convictions for burglary in Los Angeles County in 2019 and 2020 — is also charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Garcia-Linares, who is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 19, is also facing an additional count of fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly.
The criminal complaint alleges that the defendants armed themselves with handguns, disguised their identities by putting on face masks and initially drove to the 100 block of West 9th Street in Long Beach, where one person was robbed at gunpoint Oct. 12.
The two then allegedly drove to 2nd Street and Falcon Avenue and pointed firearms at Mello and two other people and demanded their property, according to the complaint.
Police said officers responded at about 1:28 a.m. Oct. 12 to a call of a shooting, with paramedics taking Mello to a hospital.
Mello died at the hospital the same day from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Garcia-Linares was arrested in the 700 block of Orange Avenue the day of the shooting, police said.
Ramirez was arrested Tuesday by Long Beach police.
Both men remain jailed without bail.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting was asked to call homicide detectives Eric Thai or Chasen Contreras at 562-570-7244. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.