Man from Yuma arrested after murder five months ago

After 5 months of investigating, YCSO found and arrested Joshua Dominic Ornelas for premeditated murder in the 1st degree for the murder of Juan Alfredo Ruiz.

Throughout the five months, YCSO has identified 2 people of interest in the case. YumaDailyNews.com reported on the case of April 2022, from the article when deputies arrived on the day of the murder, no suspects were found.

They left Ruiz dead on the ground with wounds from being shot. He was dead when authorities got there.

On July 12, 2022, a suspect of a Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) homicide case from earlier this year was arrested by the Yuma Police Department on an unrelated matter.

The investigation of the homicide continued while the suspect was in custody. YCSO Investigators established probable cause to charge the suspect with the homicide.

The suspect, Joshua Dominic Ornelas, 28, of Yuma, AZ was charged with premeditated murder in the 1st degree for the murder of Juan Alfredo Ruiz.

On Tuesday, September 6, 2022, Ornelas was indicted by a grand jury on the Homicide charge and remains in custody at the Yuma County Detention Center.