PERTH AMBOY, NJ—A murder case that begin with the body of an 18-year-old man being found on Conrail property in Perth Amboy led to a murder charge against a man from El Salvador who was arrested over 200 miles away on unrelated charges.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) identified the young victim as Perth Amboy resident Jose David Guardado-Leiva on August 28, three days after his body was found by a passerby near William Street.
The county’s Medical Examiner determined that Guardado-Leiva died from “sharp injuries of the head, neck and torso.”
Authorities said the man’s body was found on property owned by Conrail, a Philadelphia-based freight rail company with tracks and spurs cutting through the city.
One week later, authorities were ready to announce a murder charge against 20-year-old Francisco Carlos Ramires, a man from El Salvador who is also known as Carlos Campos.
According to a report on MassLive.com, Campos is believed to be affiliated with the street gang known as MS-13, which is based in El Salvador.
It’s not the first time this year that someone who was affiliated with the gang allegedly murdered someone in Middlesex County.
As we reported earlier this year, a 19-year-old who listed the gang on his Facebook page recently pled guilty to manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of a man near his Hamilton Street apartment complex in New Brunswick.
Boston Police Department (BPD) was the first to report on the arrest of Campos, via a September 4 Facebook post.
BPD credited a gang analyst at the Boston Rgional Intelligence Center (BRIC) with figuring out that “a member of the MS-13 gang wanted in a series of assaults in Brighton, MA, identified as Carlos Campos-Cutone, may be the same individual wanted for questioning… in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.”
“An internal memo was distributed to members of the Boston Police Department, and based on this information, members of the Youth Violence Strike Force familiar with the MS-13 gang and its members began an investigation,” continues the post.
That same day, officers confirmed Campos was the same man wanted in New Jersey, which may not have been easy considering “he was using aliases and a combination of names in an attempt to elude authorities.”
“The officers set up surveillance in the area of Royal Street in Allston, and shortly after, observed three men, one of whom matched Campos’s description,” reported the BPD Facebook page.
The post continues with details about the three men, and what went down next:
Officers stopped all three men, and after further investigation, officers were able to determine that one individual was 20-year-old Francisco Carlos Ramires of East Boston (AKA Carlos Campos). He was arrested on outstanding MA warrants. The second individual, identified as 18-year-old Henri Salvador-Gutierrez of Brighton, was also found to have active and outstanding warrants and was placed under arrest. The third male, identified as 18-year-old Erick Hernandez-Jandres of Roxbury, was arrested for Unlawful Possession of a Dangerous Weapon.
On Sunday, September 3, 2017, members of the Middlesex County, NJ Prosecutors Office traveled to Boston, and members of the Boston Police Department facilitated a series of interviews with Francisco Carlos Ramires. During the interviews, Ramires admitted to his involvement in the New Jersey homicide.
On Monday, September 4, 2017, officers filed additional complaints against Ramires for being a Fugitive from Justice, as well as lodged a full extradition arrest warrant from New Jersey charging him with Murder.
The investigation is active and is continuing, according to the MCPO.
Anyone with information is asked to call Perth Amboy Police Department Detective Dennis Marte of the at (732) 442-4400, MCPO Detective Michael Connelly at (732) 745-4340, or MCPO Detective Felix De La Cruz at (732) 745-3115.
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
