King City Man Who Raped a Child During a Home Burglary Sentenced to Life Without Parole

SALINAS, California- Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced on Tuesday, May 25 that the Honorable Rafael Vasquez sentenced Leonardo Ramirez Jr., age 28, to life without the possibility of parole after he was found guilty at a jury trial for violently raping a 10-year-old girl, during the commission of a residential burglary in which he had the intent to commit a sex offense. On February 3, 2018, around 7 am, the young who was 10 years of age woke up to a man in her bedroom pulling down her pajama pants. The man was wearing a mask over his entire face, gloves, a dark hoody, and was holding what looked like a black handgun. When the girl tried to scream for help, he covered her mouth and nose and told her to shut up as he pointed the gun at her head. She was scared for her life and complied. He then raped her and fled the scene. The girl told her family that morning and they called the police. The girl received numerous injuries from the assault and felt pain in certain parts of her body for multiple weeks. DNA evidence was taken from the girl’s body. Law enforcement developed a full DNA profile from that evidence. For over 2 years, police interviewed suspects and took DNA swabs to identify her rapist. On May 20, 2020, King City Police set up a meeting with Ramirez and obtained a sample of his DNA surreptitiously. The California Department of Justice determined that Ramirez’s DNA matched the DNA collected from the girl. Police arrested Ramirez the day after they received the DNA results. He initially denied he had ever been inside her home. When police confronted him with the DNA evidence, Ramirez then admitted that he assaulted the girl, but minimized his conduct and intent. On May 20, 2021, the girl who is now 13 years of age came to court and shared all the ways that this horrible crime had affected her life. Her mother and sister also gave statements about how much the crime had impacted their lives. Ramirez received a mandatory sentence of life without parole because of the various factual enhancements that the jury found true. The case was primarily investigated by Sergeants Joshue Partida, Leo Guzman, and John Dow of the King City Police Department as well as retired Detective Steven Kennedy of the King City Police Department.

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Fatal 3 Vehicle Accident Involving Wrong Way Driver on Highway 101 Outside of King City on January 10

A fatal multi-vehicle collision happened on Saturday night, January 10 at 9:51 p.m. on northbound Highway 101 outside of King City. According to the King City CHP a 2016 Toyota Tacoma driven by 65-year-old Paul Lee Cooper of Otis, Oregon was heading the wrong way going southbound in the northbound lanes south of Jolon Road, while a 2006 Toyota Corolla driven by 33-year-old Dinora Maribel Gomez of Salinas was heading northbound on Highway 101 south of Jolon Road in the #1 lane and a Honda Accord driven by 36-year-old Ignacio Sangerman of King City was also traveling northbound on Highway 101 south of Jolon Road but was in the #2 lane. Due to Cooper's level of impairment his vehicle went the wrong way on Highway 101 going directly into the path of Gomez' vehicle causing the rear of her car to crash with the front of the vehicle driven by Sangerman. Cooper was arrested, sustaining major injuries and was transported to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas where as of January 12 is...

Monterey County DA Releases Preliminary Information Concerning an Officer Involved Shooting Incident that Occurred Outside of Soledad on December 16

SALINAS, California- Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni on December 19 released preliminary information concerning the officer involved shooting (OIS) which occurred at about 1:20 a.m. outside the city of Soledad on December 16, 2025. Just before 1:00 a.m., Monterey County Sheriff’s Deputy Carlos Pina, who has been a peace officer for 10 years all with MCSO, and Deputy Blain Councilman, each in separate patrol cars, were dispatched to 32097 McCoy Road. A resident at the farm labor camp reported a suspicious individual with a handgun whose white Honda 4 door sedan was parked in space 18 at the complex. Before parking there, the suspect drove around and around, stopped in front of the reporting party’s (RP’s) truck, and got out. The RP could hear music. Deputy Pina drove the lead patrol car and arrived just after 1:20 a.m. His dashcam video, which does not record sound but which he installed on his own and at his own expense, depicts the following: He drove down ...

King City City Council Announces Selection of José Arreola as New City Manager

January 7, 2025-Following an extensive recruitment process, José Arreola has been selected by the King City City Council to be its next City Manager. Arreola will replace Steve Adams, who is retiring after serving in the position for the past 10 years. Arreola was selected from 31 applicants and 8 finalists for the position. The King City City Council will formally consider the proposed city manager contract at its meeting on Tuesday night, January 13. Arreola's first day on the job is scheduled to be February 23. José Arreola has a distinguished career of serving the community with a particular commitment to youth. He has worked for the City of Salinas for 12 years as their Community Safety Program Manager, Community Safety Administrator and Assistant to the City Manager. Among other responsibilities, Arreola has led several programs to eliminate gang violence which aligns well with the City of King’s efforts and priorities. Prior to that, Arreola worked as an Educa...

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