SALEM, Ore. — Update: Salem police have arraigned and charged Ismael Ventura-Arellano with second-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm on Feb. 22 for the death of Jesus Ramos-Torres. Ventura-Arellano remains in custody at the Marion County Jail.
The Salem Police Department is looking for answers in the death of a young Salem man found shot in his car on Jan. 25.
Salem police officers responded to a report of a shooting on Cordon Road Southeast at 1:30 a.m. that morning. When officers arrived, they found a car in the middle of the road where they found the victim, 23-year-old Jesus Ramos-Torres, dead from a gunshot wound.
"Well, this is very tough," said Leticia Ramos, the older sister of Ramos-Torres. "As you might know, God is giving me a lot of strength to deal with this and help my parents go through this again, but I’m destroyed. You know, it's very hard for all of us."
Ramos described her brother as a kind and caring person who loved his family and would help anybody out.
"He was very kind, very sweet, always caring about everyone who he met. He would ask questions of how you been, how he could help you," she said. "He would get involved like you were family, even though he had just met you."
Ramos-Torres had just turned 23. He lived with his parents and helped his father buy and sell sports cars.
"He had just turned 23 a year before this happened — I mean, a day before this happened," said his sister. "So, it's ... it's very tough. They're, they're destroyed. My mom is having a very hard time, especially, because he was living with them."
Now, Ramos-Torres' family is asking the public for help in getting him justice in the unwarranted shooting.
"We don't need your name or anything. We just need any little detail that can bring justice for him and for our family. It would, it would really help us," said his older sister. "I mean, it's not going to bring him back, but it's going to give us a little peace to you know, make whoever's responsible with this, you know, pay for it."
As of Monday afternoon, Salem police said that no arrests have been made, and this incident is an active investigation.
"We really want to know who and whoever did it and whoever was involved in it, you know, to pay for this. He was very young, he was barely starting to spread his wings," said Ramos.
Anyone who saw Ramos-Torres or his car, a silver four-door 2017 Lexus IS 350 F Sport with a sunroof, or has any information from the evening of Jan. 24 or between the hours of midnight and 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 25, is urged to contact Salem police at 503-588-8477, reference case number SMP24-6769.
More Than A Number aims to help give a face and a voice to victims and families impacted by tragedies. If you or someone you know has been the victim of a homicide and would like to share your story, you can reach out to us by sending an email to morethananumber@kgw.com.
