A fugitive accused in the shooting death of an Alpharetta man was arrested Tuesday night after he was found hiding in a Forsyth County dumpster, authorities said.
Billy Galvez, 22, of Atlanta, was wanted by the GBI on charges of malice murder and aggravated assault in connection with the July 5 death of 35-year-old Alejandro Ramirez, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday in a Facebook post. Ramirez was shot multiple times outside a Norcross event hall.
“We hope this arrest brings a measure of comfort to the Ramirez family as they begin the journey for justice,” the sheriff’s office said in the post.
The GBI investigated the shooting at the request of Norcross police, according to a spokeswoman for the state agency. On July 5, police responded to the Fusion Event Hall on Brook Hollow Parkway about 5 a.m. and found Ramirez with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
“The GBI investigation revealed that as a result of a dispute between Ramirez and Galvez, Galvez retrieved a firearm from a vehicle, drove through the parking lot to Ramirez’s location and shot Ramirez,” GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in a news release. “Galvez fled the scene and had been a fugitive.”
On Tuesday night, Galvez became the subject of a multi-jurisdictional manhunt, she said. Forsyth County sheriff’s deputies eventually tracked him to Fowler Park after he fled from federal law enforcement.
Body camera footage released by the Forsyth agency shows several deputies searching the park with the help of a police dog. After looking for Galvez for about a half-hour, Cpl. William Sessa’s K-9, Hummer, alerted the deputies to check a dumpster.
“He’s super heads up on this dumpster,” Sessa said on the video, referring to Hummer’s posture.
Galvez was seen sitting in the empty dumpster after a deputy opened a small metal door. He appeared to be arrested without further incident.
According to the GBI, he was in the company of Jennifer “Jenni” Rodriguez-Cardona, who was also arrested and charged with hindering the apprehension or punishment of a criminal.
Galvez was taken to the Gwinnett County jail, where he was being held without bond. Rodriguez-Cardona was booked into the Forsyth County Jail.
— Staff writer Chelsea Prince contributed to this article.
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