Prosecutor Recommends Death For Suspected Stockton Bank Robber
STOCKTON (CBS13/AP) - Prosecutors announced they will seek the death penalty against one man charged with killing a bank robbery hostage and two others in Stockton last year.
Jaime Ramos is charged with killing bank customer Misty Holt-Singh, 41, and two other men, who are suspected in the armed robbery that started an hour-long running gun battle with Stockton police.
At a hearing Monday in Stockton, prosecutors recommended the death penalty for Jaime Ramos. He is the lone survivor of the three suspected robbers.
Ruvalcaba is suspected of driving the men to the bank, but he's also charged with the deaths. The prosecutor has recommended life in prison without parole for Ruvalcaba.
Both Ramos, 20, and Ruvalcaba, 21, have each been charged with three counts of murder in addition to robbery, kidnapping, carjacking and gang counts. California law allows murder charges to be filed against anyone involved in a crime in which someone is killed.
The two are also charged with 35 counts of attempted murder for each of the officers involved in the shootout.
Police say the three armed men robbed the Bank of the West branch, taking two bank employees and a customer as hostages.
Authorities say Ramos used Holt-Singh, a customer at the bank, to shield himself from a spray of bullets fired by police. Holt-Singh had a husband and two teenage children.
The two employees were injured, but they survived after being thrown or jumping out of the moving vehicle. The two dead suspects have been identified as Alex Gregory Martinez, 27, and Gilbert Renteria Jr., 30.
The two bank employees were injured but survived.
The attorney for Ramos could not be immediately reached for comment. Attorney Jeffrey Hirschfield, who represents Ruvalcaba, declined to comment. The trial for both men is expected to begin early next year.
