ESPAÑOLA, N.M. (KRQE) – An Espanola man was sentenced to prison for his part in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of a woman over an alleged $400 debit card theft, according to the Department of Justice.
According to court documents, the victim used Crystal Ramos’s debit card to withdraw $400 without permission. Ramos, who is now deceased, enlisted Jorge Dominguez, Luis Mariscal-Lopez, and another individual to assist in a plot against the victim.
On January 14, 2018, the conspirators lured the victim to a house in Espanola to hang out and use drugs, the Department of Justice wrote in a news release. Upon arrival, the victim was violently assaulted and tortured until she died.
The suspects then called a man named Johnny Black to clean the crime scene, move the body to a remote location, burn the remains and evidence in fire pits, and eventually bury the victim’s remains in a shallow grave, according to the Department of Justice.
Dominguez was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Upon his release, he will be subject to five years of supervised release.
Black pleaded guilty to federal firearms offenses and being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison.
Mariscal-Lopez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Ramos died in a shootout with police in Colorado on June 14, 2018
