How Richard Ramirez Was Caught

This is the story of two very different 13-year-old boys who went down very different routes in life. One was a cold-blooded killer, while the other was the hero who assisted in his downfall. This is the account of how a teenager from Southern California stayed up long past his bedtime and eventually became a crucial witness against the Night Stalker.

On February 29th, 1960, in El Paso, Texas, Ricardo Leyva Munoz Ramirez was born, becoming Richard Ramirez. When Ramirez was 13, he saw his cousin shoot and kill his wife. Ramirez began breaking into houses that year. Ramirez relocated his crime spree from Texas to Los Angeles after quitting high school. On June 27, 1984, he killed 79-year-old widow Jennie Vincow in her Eagle Rock apartment, turning his previously small crimes into something truly horrific.

After remaining silent for eight months, he started killing once more and wouldn't stop until he was apprehended. News coverage of the killing spree that swept Southern California would take up much of the following year. He was referred to as the Valley Intruder or the Walk-In Killer, but the Los Angeles Herald's moniker was the one that remained. aka The Night Stalker.

The Night Stalker continued to murder 13 innocent people throughout the course of this year. After a vacation, the Romero family was coming home to their Mission Viejo residence on Saturday, August 24, 1985. While the rest of the family was asleep at midnight, their 13-year-old son James Romero III was wide awake.

Due to its location close to a steep hill and lack of fencing, the Romero family residence frequently saw passing animals. James left the house in the early morning hours of the 25th to get his pillow, which he'd left in the camper with the family.

As he passed the driveway, he could hear footsteps on the gravel path leading to the backyard. James went to look into it, but when he couldn't find anything, he returned to the garage to work on his little bike. But when the sound of footsteps recurred, James realized it wasn't an animal this time.

The noise was coming from directly outside the garage. James hurriedly hid behind the automobile while planning his escape. He sprinted to the kitchen door and then hurried to his bedroom. He gazed out the window once inside. James made the crazy bold decision to approach the stranger for a closer look. He passed his father on the way back to the garage, who was asking him why he was still awake.

After updating him on what had happened that evening, James sprinted outside to the yard. He could see the figure in the yard, clothed in all black, a baseball cap, a jacket resembling one from Members Only, and blue pants. The enigmatic individual entered a Toyota hatchback in orange with a chrome roof rack.

James sprinted into the street and attempted to read the license plate, which read 482T. James anticipated the car to leave the parking lot in the direction it was facing away from him, but instead, the driver pulled a U-turn, sped by James, turned his head, and stared directly into his face. James sprinted back inside and told his father the information. When they informed the authorities, a deputy from the Orange County Sheriff's Department showed there to take a statement.

No one knew at the time that the guy James had just came face to face with was actually a serial killer who had earned the moniker "Night Stalker." But around 3:30 in the morning, the cops called again, requesting more details from James. He described the enigmatical figure to them once more. A horrific report of another Night Stalker incident about half a mile from James' home prompted police to visit him at 6:00 in the morning and ask for more information from him.

The Romero residence was examined by crime scene investigators. James continued by describing the entire interaction with the authorities in detail. In an effort to identify the car James had earlier seen, the police needed James to look at a handful of vehicles, but neither one fit James's description. After James arrived home, his parents came to the terrifying realization that the guy James had met that evening must have been the notorious Night Stalker and that their 13-year-old son was now a survivor and important witness who may help the police finally catch the vicious serial killer.

The police discovered a vehicle that appeared to fit James's description in the parking lot in the Rampart district of Los Angeles early on August 27, 1985. It was a 482T license plate on an orange Toyota hatchback with a chrome roof rack.

When the vehicle was positively identified as the one James observed in the wee hours of August 25th, 1985, it was towed to the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Santa Ana. The car's owner had thoroughly cleaned it of any evidence of their identification, but thanks to a novel Japanese technique, police were able to discover an intact fingerprint on the back of the rearview mirror that didn't belong to the car's original owner.

This fingerprint helped them track down the owner of the orange Toyota hatchback. This particular fingerprint belonged to Richard Ramirez. On August 30th, 1985, they disclosed Ramirez's identity and issued a photograph of him. In East Los Angeles on August 31, 1985, Ramirez attempted to steal Faustino Pinon's daughter's car as he was working on it, but the vehicle rolled back and collided with the chimney of the house.

Faustino saw the man, later named Richard Ramirez, and called the police. After that, Ramirez sprinted to Angela De La Torre's automobile. When she resisted, he hit her in the stomach and took the keys.

Jose Burgoin, Angela's neighbor, came over to offer assistance. "Don't approach me, or I'll shoot you", Ramirez shouted, but Burgoin didn't see a pistol, so he opened the door and helped Ramirez out of Angela's car. Ramirez was struck in the head with a steel rod by Manuel de la Torre, who then appeared, sending Ramirez fleeing.

Jose Burgoin and Faustino Pinon

In order to stop Ramirez from escaping, Jose requested the assistance of his two sons, Julio and Ernesto. Ramirez was brought to the ground when they chased after him. To capture the Night Stalker, a neighborhood of valiant citizens came together.

The wife of Faustino Pinon, Reyna Pinon, who made the police call that day, stated, "I was proud, of course, and the entire neighborhood was proud."

The following week, the police went and arrested James Romero once more. Romero was required to choose Ramirez from a police lineup.

At a subsequent preliminary hearing, James would provide evidence against Ramirez.

Richard Ramirez was found guilty of all charges on September 20, 1989, and was later given the death penalty. Ramirez told the media, "Big deal, death always went with the territory. See you at Disneyland."

Living in Phoenix, James Romero III is now a father. He still has flashbacks to his encounter with the Night Stalker. The Night Stalker's horrifying reign of terror is the tale of a sick guy, but it is also the tale of a courageous 13-year-old child who faced a monster in his neighborhood and worked with his neighbors to defeat that monster.