In the early morning hours of December 28, 2022, the body of 31-year-old Jose Olvera Ramirez was discovered lying in a roadway in Mesa, Arizona. Responding to a 'man down' call just before 7:00 a.m. near 260 W. 8th Avenue, officers found that Ramirez had been fatally shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The initial investigation was met with challenges as there were no witnesses and scant evidence, including a lack of shell casings, left at the location of the discovery.
Undeterred, detectives turned to technology to piece together the events leading to Ramirez's death. Surveillance video from a nearby Circle K convenience store, located at 8th Avenue and Country Club Drive, proved to be a critical piece of the puzzle. The footage captured Ramirez interacting with an individual in a white passenger car just ten minutes before police were dispatched to the scene. Investigators noted that the driver was wearing a dark-colored hat with 'NY' on it and that the vehicle had identifiable damage to its bumper. By utilizing other surveillance cameras in the area, police were able to track the car and identify its registered owner, 33-year-old Heath Daniel. Cell phone records further solidified the connection, placing Daniel's phone in the vicinity at the time of the murder.
Two days after the discovery of Ramirez's body, on December 30, 2022, a series of search warrants were executed at locations associated with Heath Daniel. At his residence, officers found a hat matching the description from the surveillance video and an empty gun box for a. 45 caliber pistol. The white passenger car was located at the home of a relative, who informed police that Heath and his 37-year-old wife, Vanessa Daniel, had asked them to hold onto the vehicle and a box of. 45 caliber cartridges. An examination of the car revealed both fired and unfired. 45 caliber casings. Further investigation uncovered a witness who stated that Heath Daniel had admitted to shooting a man and had shown them a. 45 caliber handgun.
While the search warrants were being served, authorities learned that Heath and Vanessa Daniel had left the area in a different vehicle. With the assistance of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the couple was located traveling on Interstate 10 towards Tucson and taken into custody. Heath Daniel was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and being a prohibited possessor of a firearm. Vanessa Daniel faced charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence. The diligent work of multiple divisions within the Mesa Police Department, utilizing video surveillance and cellular data, led to the swift arrests in a case that began with very little evidence.
