Eureka man arrested in June drive-by shooting investigation

Eureka police arrested Anthony Ramirez, 22, after tracing a June 1 vehicle-to-vehicle shooting near Wabash Avenue and Lowell Street to two SUVs and a trail of physical and video evidence. Officers were called to the area shortly after 1 p.m. after reports of two vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed and possible gunfire, and they found spent shell casings in the roadway.

Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Unit took over and canvassed the neighborhood, interviewed witnesses and obtained surveillance video from the area. Investigators identified a white Porsche SUV and a black Mercedes-Benz SUV as the vehicles involved. The black Mercedes was located June 3 near 9th and N streets and seized for evidence, while the white Porsche was found June 11 near Sonoma and C streets and also processed.

On June 16, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Ramirez on three counts of attempted murder and one count of shooting from a vehicle. Eureka police took him into custody June 17 in the 3300 block of Broadway without incident, then booked him into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.

The charges mark the case as more than a routine weapons investigation. Three attempted murder counts indicate detectives believe the gunfire endangered more than one person, adding urgency to a shooting that unfolded on a busy Eureka street while vehicles were moving through the area at speed. Police said the investigation remains active and ongoing.

The Wabash corridor has already been the focus of other recent police work in Eureka. On Feb. 1, officers responded to a shooting investigation near Sonoma Street and Lowell Street, and on Feb. 13, they were called to a fatal vehicle-versus-pedestrian collision at Wabash Avenue and Broadway. Together, those cases show how the same stretch of roadway has become a recurring public-safety concern for city officers and residents alike.