RICHMOND, Va. -- The two men charged with robbing the Lindo Latino Market on Richmond’s Southside this week have ties to murder victim Marvin Ramos' family.
Eighteen-year-old Ronaldy Monterroso's mother worked for the Ramos family several years ago and 25-year-old Yonathan Beltran's father, a pastor, rents space for the church from one of the Ramos brothers, Crime Insider sources told Jon Burkett.
One family member told Burkett what happpened was the “ultimate betrayal.”
Monterroso and Beltran were involved in two robberies and one attempted robbery Wednesday morning, according to Richmond Police.
During one of the hold-ups, Ramos was shot and killed at the Lindo Latino Market. The manager at the Southside market and restaurant on Broad Rock Boulevard died on his 40th birthday.
"Robbery seems like the dumbest offense anymore because video is everywhere and when you have video of someone who's identifiable, it makes a very, very strong case,” Todd Stone, a legal analyst for WTVR CBS 6 said. “It can be devastating to the defense and gives prosecutor's a lot of leverage to try and resolve a case where they end up going away quite awhile."
However, some friends of Ramos have raised the concern that Richmond's justice system will go light on the pair by pointing to a deferred disposition already for court documented gun and drug possession charges for Beltran last August.
"It might be true the El Salvadorian system is more strict, but the family doesn't have an option there,” Stone said. “This is something determined by the prosecutor and local jurisdiction. So he would be tried on the criminal charges. He would actually serve his sentence most likely and then be deported after that."
Stone stressed that a robbery conviction carries up to life in prison.
Officers are still piecing the investigation together for an upgrade of charges in the Ramos case.
While the two suspects were captured within 45 minutes of Ramos' murder, they have not yet been charged for that crime.
"Cameras that take the license plates – that really give law enforcement their first lead,” Stone said. “Look at the video at the location and compare them and see if they have the right suspects. So all that stuff comes together. License plate readers are really damning evidence, but they don't prove a case by themselves. You also have to have surveillance video, which is everywhere these days."
Sources told Burkett that the pair made off with a couple hundred bucks from the Lindo Latino Market robbery.
