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Sheriff makes Second Arrest in Found Body Case
On February 5, 2020, Detectives with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the US Department of Homeland Security US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (HSI) interviewed and subsequently arrested Juan Manuel Amaya Pavon for his involvement in assisting Ramirez Russel with the disposal of the Gerardo Munoz De La Paz. Pavon was arrested for tampering with evidence (corpse) and was booked into the Montgomery County Jail with a bond amount of $125,000.
On January 29, 2020, at about 7:25 am, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 20900 block of Roberts Cemetery Road in reference to a deceased male found on the side of the road. Upon arrival, Deputies located a deceased Hispanic male, later identified as 51 year old Gerardo Munoz De La Paz of Magnolia, with a visible gunshot wound. Detectives from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Homicide and Violent Crimes Unit, the Texas Rangers, Crime Scene Investigators and the Forensic Center arrived on location to assist in the investigation.
During the course of the investigation, detectives identified 38 year old Melvin Ramirez-Russel as a suspect in this case. Ramirez-Russel was interviewed by investigators, and confessed to shooting De la Paz, then disposing of the body, and tampering with the evidence in an attempt to conceal his involvement. According to Ramirez-Russel, the shooting was the result of a disagreement over a supposed debt owed between the two. Ramirez-Russel was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Montgomery County Jail for the charge of Murder, and two charges of Tampering with Evidence with a total bond amount of $410,000.
Source: Specialist Lee Knudsen, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Administrative Services
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