The Irvine Police Department (IPD) arrested 28-year-old Daniel Ramirez for kidnapping and assaulting a man inside his apartment. His girlfriend, 27-year-old Mallory Arredondo, was also arrested for an outstanding warrant.
Yesterday, at approximately 9:00 a.m., IPD officers responded to an apartment community in the area of Irvine Center Drive and Spectrum regarding a possible stolen vehicle investigation. The victim stated he met Ramirez and Arredondo several days prior and they asked to borrow his car yesterday. When he refused, they took his car without permission and had not returned after several hours.
Later in the afternoon, at approximately 12:25 p.m., an IPD officer observed the victim’s vehicle and attempted an enforcement stop. The vehicle fled at a high rate of speed and a short vehicle pursuit ensued. The officer discontinued the pursuit due to the suspect vehicle’s excessive speed and the danger it posed to the public.
A short time later, officers located the unoccupied vehicle parked, with the engine running, in the underground parking garage of the victim’s apartment building. Officers made repeated attempts to contact the victim by phone, but there was no answer.
Due to the suspicious circumstances, officers feared the victim was inside his residence and was possibly in danger. IPD patrol personnel began evacuating neighboring apartments and the Orange County Fire Authority was requested to stage nearby to provide immediate aid to anyone injured. A drone was deployed to surveil the area and make announcements. Following the announcements, the victim exited the apartment and the door closed promptly behind him. The suspects then barricaded the door and refused to come out.
The victim told officers both suspects were inside the apartment. He said the male suspect pistol-whipped him and was in possession of multiple firearms.
The IPD Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) and Crisis Negotiations Team responded to the scene and took over negotiations with the suspects. When negotiations were unsuccessful, multiple less-lethal projectiles were used to break the windows of the apartment. Arredondo exited the apartment at 8:43 p.m. and Ramirez surrendered approximately 10 minutes later. Both suspects were detained and IPD detectives took over the investigation.
A search warrant was later served on the apartment and a non-serialized AR-15 assault rifle and two handguns were recovered. All the firearms were in various stages of disassembly. Detectives believe Ramirez disassembled the weapons when officers were negotiating his surrender. Ammunition for one of the handguns was also recovered.
Ramirez was arrested and booked at Orange County Jail for Kidnapping, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Criminal Threats, and outstanding warrants. Detectives will request firearm charges be added by the Orange County District Attorney’s office at a later date against Ramirez, if appropriate. Arredondo was arrested for her outstanding warrant and she was cited and released from the IPD custody facility.
Anyone with information related to this case should contact Detective Jason Renshaw at 949-724-7244 or email jrenshaw@cityofirvine.org.