Police: Man killed girlfriend while she was having ‘manic episode’

A man facing a murder charge in the shooting death of his girlfriend in a west valley apartment told Las Vegas police that he shot her as she was experiencing a “manic episode” while their 1-year-old son was in a playpen downstairs, records show.

On July 3, the Metropolitan Police Department received a call just before 4:30 p.m. from 30-year-old Jimmy Ramirez, who told police that he had shot his girlfriend, identified by the Clark County coroner as 32-year-old Megan Ruiz, twice in his apartment, according to his arrest report.

Upon arriving, officers detained Ramirez and found Ruiz lying on the upstairs landing with gunshot wounds, the report shows.

When police surveyed neighbors looking for potential witnesses, they learned that a 1-year-old boy was inside the apartment.

The child was “secured safely” with child protective services, Metro said.

This was not the first time that police had responded to a dispute between the couple, who met online around four years ago, Ramirez told detectives.

But when asked why he had not called police for help like he’d done in the past, Ramirez “could not give a reasonable explanation,” records show.

In an interview with police, Ramirez said that when he got back from work at around 3:30 p.m. on July 3, Ruiz told him that she wanted to be intimate.

Ramirez recalled expressing to her that he was not in the mood and was going upstairs to change out of his work clothes, police said.

Ruiz allegedly began to yell at her boyfriend because he had rejected her, Ramirez said in the interview.

While changing out of his work clothes, he placed a revolver that he normally carries to and from work on a closet shelf in their bedroom, according to police.

When he got back downstairs, the pair continued arguing, with Ruiz asking him why he didn’t love her anymore and Ramirez expressing doubts that the relationship could continue this way.

With the child still in the playpen, Ramirez recalled Ruiz heading upstairs and destroying a baby gate. She then began hitting the walls of his apartment with broken pieces of the gate, he told police.

Ramirez followed Ruiz upstairs and ran past her into their shared bedroom, records show. He grabbed the gun from the closet, pointed it at Ruiz, and said, “Stop, stop, stop,” police said.

As Ruiz was still holding a broken piece of the gate in both hands, Ramirez felt he was in danger, he told police. He fired two shots at his girlfriend, who fell backward.

When she was discovered by officials, Ruiz was transported to University Medical Center, where medical personnel pronounced her dead around an hour later, records show.

According to police records, Ruiz was not able to provide officers with a reasonable explanation as to why he had ran into the bedroom when he could have gone back downstairs, why he did not close the bedroom door or why he had not called police for help.

“At almost all points throughout the encounter explained by Ramirez, he was the one approaching Ruiz,” police said.

Ramirez, who is facing a murder charge, is scheduled to appear in court on July 24.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com.