By Khalida Sarwari
Police have identified a man who was shot to death at an illegal cockfight near Petaluma last weekend as 45-year-old Julian Ramirez Ramirez from Richmond.
Ramirez died of his injuries at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital shortly after he was shot at a ranch in the 6500 block of Lakeville Highway on Sunday morning.
Officers say he was shot in the neck or upper chest area by possibly multiple people who witnesses reported fled the scene in cars afterward. Surveillance cameras also captured several cars leaving the area.
Ramirez’s relatives put him in the back seat of a pickup truck and drove him to Petaluma Valley Hospital, calling 911 as they neared the hospital. When emergency responders determined his injuries were life threatening, he was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Detectives say Ramirez’s family was not cooperative in the beginning, but when they revealed where Ramirez was shot, officers traced the location to a ranch with a large, secluded vineyard, where they discovered an illegal cockfighting arena in the middle of an isolated grove of trees.
Police say the construction of this arena indicates that the cockfighting events appeared to be “sophisticated.” Many of the roosters had spurs, and some were found in a pit near the arena, according to the sheriff’s office. In total, 15 live roosters, some of which were injured, and 10 dead roosters were discovered by detectives. Animal Control was summoned to collect the roosters.
Both the Petaluma Police Department and Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident. The sheriff’s office is offering a $2,500 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for Ramirez’s murder and ask anyone with information to call the 707-565-2185.
