Man faces California murder charges, is person of interest in Houston missing siblings case

HOUSTON – The bowlegged man seen in surveillance video released by Los Angeles police struck a chord for Kenny Escobar of Houston.

"Once I started paying more attention to the video, when I started seeing it and discussed it with family members then I kind a realized it was him," said Kenny Escobar

It’s believed that man in the video was Kenny’s cousin – Ramon Escobar. In California, Ramon  Escobar is accused of violent baseball bat attacks on homeless men in both Los Angeles and Santa Monica. The attacks left three dead and five injured.

Santa Monica Police said they located Ramon Escobar on Sept. 24 a little more than a half-mile from the Santa Monica Pier. After that, he was arrested and booked for murder. 

Now, Houston police want to question Ramon Escobar in the disappearance of Kenny's father and aunt, Rogelio and Dina Escobar.  

Ramon lived with his uncle, Rogelio.  

Rogelio Escobar went missing last month. His sister, Dina, went missing after going to the house to ask after her brother.

Kenny said news of the allegations out of California against his cousin brought more heartbreak.

“It was emotional. Obviously, we all have heart ached over my father and my aunt and then to get this news, it's just, it makes it even harder,” said Kenny Escobar. “We don't know what's next. We want answers about my father and my aunt.”

Police said Ramon Escobar is a suspect in the following cases in Santa Monica:

• 6:45 a.m. Sept. 8 - A man was found one block from Santa Monica Pier suffering from head trauma. The victim in that case remains in critical condition. 
• 6:40 a.m. Sept. 10 -  A man was found one block from Santa Monica Pier suffering from head trauma. The victim in that case remains in critical condition. 
• 6:51 a.m. Sept. 20 - The body of Steven Ray Cruze was found under the Santa Monica Pier. He had suffered injuries consistent with blunt force head trauma to the head.
• 6:51 a.m. Sept. 24 - A man was found a little more than a half-mile away from the pier suffering from "significant" head trauma. While searching the area, police located and arrested Escobar three blocks away.

In California, he faces five counts of attempted murder and four counts of robbery, Santa Monica Police said. When he was located, investigators found a black Honda CR-V that they believe he used to get to Santa Monica from Texas. 

The car bore Texas license plates, Santa Monica police told KPRC.

KPRC has learned that Ramon Escobar has a troubled past in Houston.

His criminal history here includes:  

• 1992 - Convicted of burglary of a vehicle 
• 1995 - Convicted of failure to stop and give info
• 2001 - Convicted of assault with bodily injury 
• 2017 - Convicted of assault with bodily injury 

In addition to those convictions, Immigration and Customs Enforcement tells KPRC that Ramon Escobar was sent back to El Salvador six times between 1997 and 2011

After Ramon Escobar's most recent illegal re-entry into the country, ICE tells KPRC that Ramon  Escobar won the appeal of his immigration case in 2016.

It's not clear why.

Kenny Escobar says his family has so many questions.

"We're waiting for answers as far as my father and my aunt and now we're trying to see how this is going to end with my cousin," he said.

Ramon Escobar was scheduled to be in court Wednesday in California to face murder charges.  Immigration has told KPRC it has filed a detainer against Ramon Escobar.

ICE released the following statement to KPRC:

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed a detainer against unlawfully present Salvadoran national Ramon Alberto-Escobar following his arrest Sept. 24 in Los Angeles for murder.
 
Alberto-Escobar was ordered removed from the U.S. by a federal immigration judge in February 1988 and has been removed to El Salvador six times between 1997 and 2011. Alberto-Escobar also has six felony convictions for burglary and illegal reentry.
 
After illegally reentering the U.S. following his most-recent removal Alberto-Escobar filed an appeal of his immigration case with the Board of Immigration Appeals in June 2016, which the courts  granted in December 2016. ICE released him from custody on an Order of Supervision in January 2017 pursuant to the court’s decision.”
 
BACKGROUND:
A detainer is the process by which ICE notifies another U.S. government entity that at whatever point it would release a foreign national from its custody that rather than doing so ICE wishes to take that person into ICE custody for immigration removal proceedings.
 
Here's an explainer of detainer policy: https://www.ice.gov/detainer-policy