Facebook fight ends in shooting

VICTORVILLE • A Facebook dispute ended with a man shot in the face and his sister beaten with a baseball bat late Tuesday night, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Victorville station officer said Wednesday.

Jerry Ramirez, 24, and his 21-year-old girlfriend, Catherine Villarreal, were arrested early Wednesday morning for attempted murder, Karen Hunt, spokeswoman for the Victorville station, said.

According to authorities, the victims had been fighting with Villarreal on Facebook for some time. Villarreal is also known as Laidy Flaca and has a professional modeling page on Facebook, though it wasn’t clear if the fighting stemmed from that site or a private profile.

Tuesday night, the online arguing escalated to the point where Villarreal and Ramirez drove to the victim’s home in the 14400 block of Hesperia Road armed with a handgun and baseball bat, Hunt said.

The fighting continued outside the victim’s home and came to a head when Villarreal struck the female victim with the bat, according to a release. Ramirez then allegedly shot the 22-year-old woman’s older brother in the face. The attackers jumped into their vehicle and fled before deputies could arrive.

The 26-year-old shooting victim was taken to an undisclosed emergency hospital where he was last listed in critical condition. His sister was treated and released.

Villarreal and Ramirez — the parents of two small girls — turned themselves in later that night at the request of their family members, Hunt stated.

Detectives were able to recover the weapons used in the attack and booked the couple into Victor Valley Jail. Villarreal was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon while Ramirez was arrested for attempted murder.

A search of court records show neither Ramirez nor Villarreal has a criminal record in San Bernardino County.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela may be reached at (760) 951-6276 or at BValenzuela@VVDailyPress.com.

Get complete stories every day with the "exactly as printed" Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.