Gang member given 42 years to life in prison for Oceano murder, knife assault

April 28, 2026

Angel Ramos-Ramirez

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A San Luis Obispo County judge on Tuesday sentenced a 31-year-old gang member from Santa Maria to 42 years to life in prison for the murder of an Oceano man and a separate knife assault of a juvenile.

Last year, a San Luis Obispo County jury found Angel Ramos-Ramirez  guilty of the second-degree murder of Daniel Diaz. Ramos-Ramirez stabbed and killed the 20-year-old Oceano man for the benefit of the West Park criminal street gang.

On the morning of June 4, 2022, Ramos-Ramirez was arguing outside a home on the 2000 block of Ocean Street in Oceano with Diaz. Ramos-Ramirez then stabbed Diaz 10 times before fleeing the area.

Shortly before 2 a.m., a 911 caller reported the assault. Deputies arrived to find Diaz suffering from a stab wound. He later died at the scene.

After witnesses identified Ramos-Ramirez as well as his vehicle, CHP officers detained the suspect during a traffic stop on Highway 101 south of Los Alamos.

During the 29-day trial, jurors heard evidence that Ramos-Ramirez stabbed and killed Diaz. 

Following the trial, Judge Jesse Marino found true that Ramos-Ramirez had sustained a 2016 Santa Barbara County conviction for making criminal threats for the benefit of the West Park criminal street gang. The 2016 conviction counts as a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law.

On Jan. 29, Marino found Ramos-Ramirez also guilty of assault with a deadly weapon in a separate case. The evidence established that Ramos-Ramirez stabbed a teenager in the chest at a party in Nipomo on Sept. 4, 2021, nine months before the murder of Diaz.

Then on Tuesday, Marino sentenced Ramos-Ramirez to 42 years to life in state prison. 

Ramos-Ramirez must first serve 11 years in prison, then his remaining sentence of 31 years to life. However, due to changes in California law, it is unclear when Ramos-Ramirez might be eligible for parole, according to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office. 

“Violent gang predators like Ramos-Ramirez who prey on people of our community belong behind bars for life—today’s maximum sentence of 42 years to life delivers the swift justice our community demands,” District Attorney Dan Dow said in a statement. “Victims of violent crime deserve our unwavering protection and a justice system that honors their rights above all. Our office stands with them, partnering with law enforcement to ensure predators face the full consequences.”