Murder suspect has violent history
Man accused of killing ex-girlfriend charged twice in domestic violence
When Roxie Tullos found out her younger sister, Chelsea Parkett, had been shot and killed in the parking lot of a Northeast Albuquerque apartment complex Friday, she immediately suspected Parkett’s former longtime boyfriend and father of her two sons was responsible, she said.
That’s because he had a history of violence against her, which included two prior domestic violence cases in which he is accused of striking her and one of their sons, and in another
case, striking her before tossing a bicycle through a plateglass window.
Homicide detectives arrested 28-year-old Jerrold Ramone on Friday morning, minutes after Parkett was fatally shot in front of their youngest son, who is 2 years old. Ramone remained on the scene, holding the child, in the parking lot of the Jefferson Crossing apartment complex where Parkett lived.
Ramone told detectives he and Parkett, 28, had fought and then he “just raged,” loaded the gun and shot her, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. He is charged with murder, and prosecutors have asked the judge to hold him without bail until trial. A pretrial detention hearing will be held Wednesday. It’s unclear from court documents whether he has an attorney, and relatives couldn’t be reached Monday.
According to court documents, Ramone had been charged twice before with misdemeanor domestic violence against Parkett.
In July 2012, Parkett told police Ramone had spanked their son and pushed and punched her because he was angry that he was late for work. He was charged with battery of a household member, but the case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could have been refiled.
Several months later, in late December, police were again called to their home. That time, Parkett told officers she didn’t know why Ramone was upset, but he had punched her in the face and thrown a bicycle through the sliding glass door, breaking it. Parkett had a red mark below her eye and a bloody lip, according to the complaint. Ramone pleaded guilty to criminal damage to property.
Tullos said Parkett and Ramone had broken up last year, but he was trying to rekindle the relationship and would still come by her apartment. She said Parkett had recently gotten a job as a customer service representative and was excited about making enough money to move away from Ramone.
“I’d tell her to leave him, to come home or move to Texas with my other sisters,” Tullos said. “To put a restraining order on him and leave as soon as possible.”
But, she said, Parkett would often forgive him after they fought. She said they are both Navajo and were high school sweethearts back in Smith Lake before they moved to Albuquerque about 12 years ago. They had two children together, and the older boy, who is about 6 years old, was in school at the time of the shooting.
Tullos said her family is now trying to get the two boys back after they were taken into custody of the Children, Youth and Families Department.
She said Parkett was the youngest of 11 children and her family is planning a traditional funeral in her hometown, near Gallup.
Tullos said the last time she saw Ramone and her sister was the day after Christmas, at the apartment complex where Parkett was killed.
“We were sitting outside with my sister and the baby sitter, and he was cleaning his gun right in front of us,” Tullos said. “It was like a warning.”