COMPTON, Calif. (KNX) — Norma Ramirez said her son Ricardo Trujillo was very responsible for his age, good at keeping his promises, especially about coming home at the time he said he would, but the night of Sept. 24, 2021, was different.
Ricardo told his mother he was going to a party in Gardena with a group of his friends, but when they returned without him, she knew something was seriously wrong.
Ramirez said Ricardo’s friends told her he had been shot in Compton. She was understandably confused, because that was not where Ricardo said he would be, but his friends explained they left the Gardena party because it had ended early and went to Compton for another house party, where the teens were confronted by another group, before a fight broke out and Ricardo was shot.
After searching area hospitals, Ramirez went to the scene, where her son, who had ambitions of joining the Air Force, lay dead.
She tearfully told her story Monday, backed by Los Angeles County supervisors and sheriff’s investigators at a press conference in Monterey Park.
Monday, L.A. County supervisors announced $10,000 in reward money for information that leads to the arrest of the suspects in Ricardo’s “senseless” murder, with another $5,000 coming from Colonel Jack E. Thomas, III of the United States Cadet Corps, which Ricardo was a member of.
Ricardo’s girlfriend, Gabriella Santiago, spoke about his military dreams and the impact he had on her life.
“He made me feel like I was able to accomplish anything I set myself to, just because of how supporting and caring he was. When I was with him, I felt almost invincible,” Santiago said at the Monday press conference.
“Not only did I lose my boyfriend, but I also lost my best friend. It is just very unjust in the way that his life was taken from him. He definitely didn’t deserve to get his life taken away, especially in the way that it was.”
Authorities said the fight was not believed to be gang-related, and Ramirez said her son was well-behaved and stayed out of trouble.
He enjoyed playing soccer and fishing, and had been a member of a junior ROTC program for the past seven years to aid in his goal of joining the armed forces.
The county reward was sponsored by L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell of the 2nd District and later approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Anyone with information about Ricardo’s murder is asked to call the LASD's homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500.
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