Defendant Sentenced for Murdering Jail Cellmate

DATE: September 14, 2018

CASE: Richard Russell Harden (Case #09F01356)

PROSECUTOR: Deputy District Attorney Satnam Rattu, Homicide Unit

The Honorable Ernest Sawtelle sentenced Richard Russell Harden to 19 years to life in prison.  On August 15, 2018, a jury convicted Harden of the second-degree murder of Evaristo Ramirez and assault with a deadly weapon.

On February 16, 2009, Richard Harden walked into the Home Depot on Folsom Blvd. and attacked an employee with a hammer.  Harden was booked into jail and placed in a cell with Evaristo Ramirez.  The next day, Ramirez was found unresponsive in the cell.  An autopsy revealed that Ramirez was strangled to death and had multiple blunt force injuries to his head and torso.

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