Police are investigating after a man was found shot to death in Orange County.

On Jan. 2, Santa Ana police responded to reports of a shooting in an alleyway on the 1400 block of South Standard Avenue at around 7:40 p.m.

Arriving officers found an unresponsive man lying on the ground, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim was identified as Gerson Ramirez, 38, a Santa Ana resident. No suspect was spotted in the area and the circumstances surrounding the man’s death remain unclear.

“Detectives are attempting to identify and locate additional witnesses who can provide information about the homicide,” police said.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the Santa Ana Police Department at 714-245-8390 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS. 

Information provided by the public in this case is eligible for a reward under the police department’s Gang Reward Program.

Family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez are set to meet with new Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman Friday to support resentencing the brothers who are currently serving life in prison for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents in Beverly Hills.

The Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition, described as a family-led initiative, issued a statement ahead of the meeting.

“As we prepare to meet with DA Hochman, our family is hopeful for an open and fair discussion. Despite the abuse they endured as children and the unfairness of their current sentence, Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent the last three decades taking responsibility for their actions and contributing positively to their community through leadership and rehabilitation,” a portion of the statement read.

More than 20 family members of Jose and Kitty Menendez’s family are expected to attend Friday’s meeting to advocate for a resentencing.

However, not all members of the Menendez family feel the brothers should be released.

Milton Andersen, the brother of Kitty Menendez, believes Erik and Lyle weren’t molested by their father and that “justice was served,” NewsNation reported in October.

“Mr. Anderson believes, based on the evidence, that it was only when they learned that their father was going to take them out of the will, essentially because they wouldn’t get a job,” the attorney representing Andersen said during an appearance on Elizabeth Vargas Reports. “Erik and Lyle then went to purchase guns under someone else’s name.” 

Former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced he supported resentencing the Menendez brothers in October. 

“I strongly support clemency for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently serving sentences of life without possibility of parole. They have respectively served 34 years and have continued their educations and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of fellow inmates,” said Gascón.

Gascón however was voted out as district attorney in November and Hochman has not announced where he stands on the controversial issue.

“Here’s my approach, whether it’s the Menendez case or quite honestly any case: you have to do the hard work,” Hochman told KTLA in November. “You have to look, in that case, at thousands of pages of confidential prison files, you have to review thousands of trial transcripts from months-long trials, and you have to speak to the prosecutors, law enforcement and the defense counsel…and the victims’ families.”

California Gov. Gavin Newson has said that he would defer his decision on the Menendez brothers’ clemency until Hochman reviews the case.

Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted to fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, claiming they feared their parents were about to kill them to stop people from finding out that Jose had sexually abused Erik for years, according to the Associated Press.

They were convicted in 1996.

A former Riverside County sheriff’s deputy was arrested on allegations of stalking and kidnapping.

On Nov. 27, authorities received reports that a woman was reportedly being stalked by the suspect, identified as Alexander Vanny, 33.

An investigation was initiated and authorities “found evidence that Vanny committed additional felony offenses.”

On Dec. 19, Vanny was arrested for kidnapping, stalking, and other felony charges.

Vanny was previously arrested in June 2024 after he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman who had been volunteering with the sheriff’s department.

At the time, Vanny was still employed as a deputy. The woman reported the assault to another deputy, who then told his supervisor, according to The Press-Enterprise.

Vanny was hired by the sheriff’s department in 2016 and last worked in the Hemet Sheriff’s Station. In June, he was released after posting a $1 million bond. He was initially placed on administrative leave but was later fired following the investigation.

The investigation into the December 2024 arrest remains ongoing and no further details were released. 

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to call Investigator Katherine Bermudez of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Unit at 951–955–1706.