Man sentenced to 42 years for killing ex-girlfriend at Phoenix Burger King last year

PHOENIX — A man has been sentenced to 42 years behind bars after killing his ex-girlfriend in Phoenix, authorities announced on Tuesday.

Gerardo Vazquez Alvarez, 30, killed his ex-girlfriend in April 2023, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

His victim, 25-year-old Maria Ledesma Ramirez, worked at a Burger King near 19th Avenue and Buckeye Road.

He and she had been arguing over the phone about their children and their relationship before the shooting, prosecutors said.

Alvarez went to the Burger King, ordered food and waited for Ramirez to come to the front counter before shooting her, prosecutors said.

His attack also critically injured one of his Ramirez’s teenage coworkers.

Why the suspect will spend 42 years behind bars

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said Alvarez’s actions caused a ripple effect that damaged many lives.

“Not only did a young mother lose her life that night, but multiple young people were also put in harm’s way and will have to live with the trauma of what they saw and heard due to the defendant’s callous actions,” Mitchell said in a news release. “In committing this offense, he altered many lives, but most of all, those of his own young children.”

Alvarez pled guilty to these charges in April of this year, prosecutors said:

• One count of second-degree murder
• One count of attempt to commit second-degree murder
• One count of disorderly conduct

Ramirez’s parents told the court their daughter will be missed during Alvarez’s sentencing.

“She was an exemplary mother,” they said. “She guarded her children so much because they were her greatest treasure, but now she has left such a huge void in us.”