In the early morning hours of Sunday, May 21, 2023, a dispute in a Cullman, Alabama parking garage tragically ended the life of 23-year-old Roberto Juarez Ramos of Blountsville. The male victim was found deceased by Cullman Police Department officers who responded to a shooting call at the Cullman City Parking Deck at approximately 2:40 a.m.
Witnesses at the scene, numbering between eight and ten, identified 20-year-old Christopher Dean Eugene Brown of Empire, Alabama, as the shooter.
This identification was later corroborated by security footage from the parking deck's cameras. Investigators believe the shooting was an impulsive act stemming from a dispute over money, and that Ramos and Brown did not have a prior relationship beyond mutual acquaintances.
A manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies ensued, and Brown was apprehended at his home in Empire by the Walker County Sheriff's Office just hours after the shooting. He was subsequently charged with murder and held at the Cullman County Detention Center without bond. The Cullman Police Department acknowledged that the parking deck had been a known area for people to congregate and that they had been actively trying to disperse crowds in the weeks leading up to the incident.
In August 2024, Christopher Dean Eugene Brown, then 22, entered a blind plea of guilty to the murder of Roberto Juarez Ramos. Following his guilty plea, on November 12, 2024, a Cullman County Circuit Judge sentenced Brown to 80 years in prison. The sentence was handed down after the court heard from both the prosecution and the family and friends of Roberto Juarez Ramos.
