Cold Case Solved: 30-Year-Old Hit-and-Run Murderer Arrested
A 30-year-old cold case involving a hit-and-run death has been solved after a rerun of ‘America’s Most Wanted’ led to the arrest of the suspect.
2 min read
Authorities in Des Moines, Iowa, have finally made an arrest in a tragic hit-and-run death that haunted detectives for nearly three decades. The breakthrough came after a chance viewing of a 1998 episode of the long-running crime-fighting television series, ‘America’s Most Wanted.’
Leslie Ruby’s Tragic Death
The arrest followed the posting of a video on Facebook by the Des Moines Police Department, announcing a major breakthrough in the case of Leslie Ruby, a 64-year-old Korean War veteran who was killed on Sept. 29, 1997, while riding his lawnmower outside his home. Sgt. Paul Parizek of the Des Moines Police appeared in the video, along with Ruby’s granddaughter, Shonna.
“I didn’t have my dad in my life, so he was my dad,” Shonna said of her late grandfather.
Parizek explained that Ruby had just finished cutting the grass at his daughter’s house when he was struck and killed by a car while crossing the street. The vehicle’s driver never stopped. The subsequent investigation led police to a suspect named Geraldo Garcia-Michel, then 28, who had fled to southern California.
A 1998 TV Show Sparks Hope
In 1998, ‘America’s Most Wanted’ profiled the case, and Parizek recalled the hopefulness that accompanied its original airing. “Everybody watched that TV show,” he said.
Ruby’s widow, Patricia, passed away several years after the accident. “I always think it was from a broken heart,” Shonna said. In 2013, Shirley L. Brown, Shonna’s mother and the only child of Leslie and Patricia Ruby, died at the age of 51.
“They both would have wanted to find some kind of justice in this,” Shonna said of her mother and grandmother. An old photograph of Patricia and Shirley holding a “Wanted” poster that featured the suspect’s face appeared in the video as Shonna spoke those words.
Tip Leads to Arrest
Incredibly, on Aug. 4, police received a “Crime Stoppers” tip from a New Jersey resident who, while watching a rerun of the 1998 ‘America’s Most Wanted’ episode on Ruby’s case, recognized Garcia-Michel as his neighbor. After a weeks-long collaboration with New Jersey authorities, U.S. Marshals then arrested the suspect on Aug. 26.
“He had made some minor adjustments to his name and date of birth, and probably some other things, over the years,” Parizek said, explaining how Garcia-Michel had evaded capture for so long.
A tearful Shonna reflected on her late mother and grandmother. “I think they would have been happy now,” she said. “And they would — they can finally rest in peace, knowing that, you know, almost 30 years later that, you know, people don’t give up on you, and things like that.”
Parizek recalled the moment police informed Shonna of the suspect’s arrest. “One of the things she said is that it was nice to know that justice was going to be served,” he told WCCI-TV in Des Moines. “And it was also nice to know that they weren’t forgotten about.”
Source: The Gateway Pundit
