On the evening of New Year's Eve, a shooting shattered the peace at an apartment complex near Cave Creek and Greenway roads in Phoenix. Inside one of the units, 32-year-old Edi Ruiz was found by responding officers suffering from a fatal gunshot wound. Despite the immediate response, Ruiz succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, turning a night of celebration into one of tragedy for his community.
The initial call to the police was made around 5 p.m., reporting the shooting and setting in motion a swift and intensive investigation.
Homicide detectives were quick to take over the case, working tirelessly through the first 24 hours of the new year. Their investigation pointed them toward a suspect who was alarmingly close to the victim. Jose Gonzales-Hernandez, a 22-year-old man who lived with Ruiz as his roommate, was identified as the primary person of interest. One of the other roommates in the apartment, which was shared by a total of seven people, reported hearing Ruiz and Gonzales-Hernandez conversing in Ruiz's bedroom just before a single gunshot rang out.
Following the sound of the shot, Gonzales-Hernandez was allegedly seen leaving the apartment with a black backpack and hastily fleeing the scene on a bicycle. This eyewitness account, coupled with other evidence gathered by detectives, solidified Gonzales-Hernandez as the main suspect. Law enforcement was able to track his cell phone to a location approximately three and a half miles away from the apartment complex where the shooting occurred. Undercover officers were dispatched to the location and were able to apprehend him without any resistance.
By New Year's Day, Jose Gonzales-Hernandez was in custody. He was subsequently arrested and booked into jail, facing a serious charge of second-degree murder. Upon his arrest, Gonzales-Hernandez chose to exercise his right to remain silent and did not provide any statements to the authorities. As a result, the motive behind the fatal shooting of his roommate, Edi Ruiz, remains unclear to investigators and the public. The investigation is ongoing as the legal process against Gonzales-Hernandez begins.
