Mesa murder suspect, wife arrested on I-10 heading toward Tucson
Jan 3, 2023, 8:14 AM
Heath Daniel, left; Vanessa Daniel (Mesa Police Department Photos)
(Mesa Police Department Photos)
PHOENIX — A husband and wife were arrested Friday in connection to a deadly shooting, authorities in Mesa said.
The Mesa Police Department said Heath Daniel, 33, was booked into jail on first-degree murder, and his wife, Vanessa Daniel, 37, was booked for hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
The couple was found on Interstate 10 heading toward Tucson when they were arrested, two days after the fatal shooting of Jose Olvera Ramirez, 31, in Mesa.
Officers responded to the area of Eighth Avenue and Center Street just before 7 a.m. on Dec. 28 to reports of a “man down” in the road.
Ramirez was found with a gunshot wound to his back and was pronounced dead on the scene. detectives turned to video surveillance to conduct an investigation.
Footage from a convenience store showed Ramirez interact with someone in a white passenger vehicle 10 minutes before officers were called to the scene, police said.
The driver of the vehicle was allegedly wearing a dark hat with “NY” written on it.
The vehicle had noticeable damage, and its license plate was identified through other surveillance cameras, police said.
The car drove past Ramirez, eastbound, made a U-turn and drove past him again, slowly. Seven shots were heard on the video, according to the probable cause statement.
Police said cellphone records showed Heath Daniel’s phone was in the area when the murder occurred.
Officers served search warrants and found the hat along with an empty gun box for a .45 caliber pistol at his house. Fired and unfired .45 caliber cartridge casings were discovered in and on the suspect’s vehicle, authorities said.
Police said they found Heath Daniel’s car at a relative’s home and that the couple asked the person to hold on to the gun and a box of cartridges for them.
At another location, police said a witness told them Heath Daniel said he had shot a man and showed the witness a .45 caliber handgun.
Heath Daniel has multiple violent felony arrests and convictions in Arizona, according to the probable cause statement.
He was held on a $500,000 bond.
