Local News
Arraignment now set Dec. 22
The arraignment of a 22-year-old Guatemala man facing a murder charge has been continued until 10 a.m. Dec. 22 in Woodward County District Court.
Julio Juarez Ramos is being tried for the alleged murder of Antonio Lopez Velasquez, 25, also from Guatemala. Also charged in the case is Isidro Juarez Ramos, 29, the brother of Julio Ramos.
Originally scheduled for Tuesday, Julio Ramos’ arraignment date was moved because his lawyer and the interpreter were both stranded in Clinton due of the weather.
A preliminary hearing for Isidro Juarez Ramos is set for Dec. 17 and 18.
The men were charged with murder after allegedly confessing to strangling Velasquez with a rope on May 16 in Mooreland and leading officers to his body, which was located near an oil field southeast of Mooreland.
According to a court affidavit prepared by Mooreland Police Chief Stephen Summerall, officers were first notified that Velasquez had disappeared after his girlfriend, Linda Sue Ann Castillo, reported him missing.
Castillo said Velasquez had not returned phone calls from her or from his sister, the affidavits state.
Castillo told Summerall that Velasquez had loaned money to Julio Juarez Ramos and that the two had been fighting about the loan for several weeks, according to the affidavit.
Because a phone call had been made on Velasquez’s cell phone requesting a ride from Enid, Summerall wired a law enforcement teletype to the police there for help in locating the man. Velasquez was reported to be driving his Ford Mustang.
Enid police located the Mustang and found Isidro and Julio Ramos in the car. The police also found Velasquez’s wallet in their possession, according to the affidavit.
After questioning, the two allegedly confessed to strangling Velasquez and led authorities to his body, according to the affidavit.
Both face a “maximum sentence of life without parole,” said A.J. Laubhan, assistant district attorney.
The case is before District Judge Ray Dean Linder.
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