When was richard ramirez caught

How did Richard Ramirez become the Night Stalker? He was recognized and attacked and ran to another vehicle, where the driver, Angie De La Torre, fought back. Ramirez punched her in the stomach and secured the car's keys. A neighbor, year-old Jose Burgoin, ran out, and Ramirez threatened to shoot him if he came closer. Onlookers joined in to help restrain Ramirez, including De La Torre's husband who hit him on the head with barbecue utensils according to police, but Ramirez managed to escape their grasp.

He ran down the street as the group pursued him, with neighbors calling out "El matador" "the killer". Authorities took Ramirez, a suspect who had terrorized the region for months, into custody that day. It wasn't until that he would be found guilty for 13 counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder, eleven sexual assaults, and fourteen burglaries.

He was sentenced to die in California's gas chamber. Following his sentencing, he was escorted past cameras, to which he said, "Hey, big deal, death always comes with the territory. I'll see you in Disneyland. Ramirez died in custody from B-cell lymphoma in before facing the gas chamber. Here's how Ramirez was finally captured, and what happened next for the remorseless killer. Throughout , investigators spent months tracking the Night Stalker's horrific crimes across California, but had been unable to identify him beyond a few eyewitness sketches and a shoe print found at multiple crime scenes.

At the end of August, however, they uncovered a single fingerprint on the rearview mirror of a car he had stolen.

That was enough to identify the Night Stalker as thenyear-old Richard Ramirez, who was already in the system for several past drug and traffic violations. From there, police were able to release a mugshot from one of those previous arrests, enabling the public to aid in the search. Indeed, within just a few days, on August 31, Ramirez was recognized in an L.

While fleeing the store, he was chased by a group of bystanders; after an hourlong pursuit, they caught up to Ramirez and beat him until police arrived. Ramirez's trial began in Los Angeles at the end of July and concluded more than a year later.

Throughout, Ramirez, a self-proclaimed Satanist, showed no remorse and often engaged in erratic behavior, including flashing a pentagram drawn on his palm and yelling, "Hail Satan," calling the judge expletives, and using reflective objects to shine light into witnesses' eyes, the L. Times reported at the time.

Additionally, at the very beginning of the trial, Ramirez reportedly threatened to smuggle a gun into the courtroom to shoot the prosecutor and others in attendance; the threat was believed to be linked to the introduction of a metal detector outside the courtroom.

After a year's worth of witnesses testified and exhibits were presented, the jury reportedly deliberated for 22 days. Though that process was interrupted by the shocking murder of one juror—a crime ultimately found to have no ties to Ramirez—the jury eventually found Ramirez guilty of all 43 crimes for which he had been charged, including 13 counts of murder.

In November , he was sentenced to death. After failing to meet his brother, he returned to Los Angeles early on the morning of August He walked past police officers, who were staking out the bus terminal in hopes of catching the killer should he attempt to flee on an outbound bus, and into to a convenience store in East Los Angeles. After noticing a group of elderly Mexican women fearfully identifying him as "El Matador" or "The Killer" , Ramirez saw his face on the front pages on the newspaper rack and fled the store in a panic.

He then ran across the Santa Ana Freeway, and attempted to carjack a woman but was chased away by bystanders, who pursued him. After hopping over several fences and attempting two more carjackings, he was eventually subdued by a group of residents, one of whom had struck him over the head with a metal bar in the pursuit.

The group held Ramirez down and relentlessly beat him until the police arrived and took him into custody. Ramirez killed at least 14 people and raped and tortured at least two dozen more during the spring and summer of His first known victim was year-old Jennie Vincow, who was sexually assaulted, stabbed and killed during a burglary in her own home.