PHOENIX, Ariz. – Phoenix FBI Special Agent in Charge John E. Lewis requests the public’s assistance by providing information concerning the 2006 murder of Guillermo Ramirez, age 54.

The sovereign status of federally recognized Indian tribes places criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country within the tribes themselves and/or with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Investigating crimes in Indian Country faces challenges brought on by the vast isolated areas on reservations. Many crimes committed on reservations are done so without witnesses and evidence is often destroyed as hidden crime scenes are discovered hours, sometimes days, after the crime.

Such is true with the investigation into the murder of a Fort Defiance resident, Guillermo Ramirez, known to friends and family as “Willy.” On June 19, 2006, Ramirez was found murdered in a remote area of the Navajo Indian Reservation. Ramirez’s truck, a green extended cab Nissan pickup with a camper shell, was observed off to the side of the Indian Route 7, between Chinle, Arizona and Sawmill, Arizona. Ramirez was found about 30 feet off the road from his truck, deceased from a gunshot wound.

The murder of Guillermo Ramirez remains unsolved. Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the murder of Ramirez is asked to contact the Gallup Resident Agency, FBI, (505) 726-6000. The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.