A man charged earlier this month in Ramsey County with murder is an illegal alien and MS-13 gang member, multiple sources confirmed to Alpha News.
Omar Andrew Ramos Castro, 24, residing in St. Paul, was charged with second-degree murder after a man’s body was found near railroad tracks in the area of the 1400 block of Case Avenue on May 25.
NEW: Multiple sources now confirm to @AlphaNews that Omar Andrew Ramos Castro, charged in last month's St. Paul homicide, is an illegal alien and MS-13 gang member.
He remains in the Ramsey County jail. https://t.co/VcPzjep3Lb pic.twitter.com/3GalLAr3Us
— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) June 17, 2026
Charges say police were called about 11 a.m. on May 25 after a man walking his dog observed a body lying between two tracks, and the 911 caller said the man appeared to be dead. The body had not been there the previous day at the same time, the man said.
Police officers found an obviously deceased shirtless man wearing shorts and one sandal. The man had lacerations to his left arm, chest, and torso. Medics arrived and declared the man dead and said his injuries did not appear to be caused by being hit by a train.
Investigators responded and found what appeared to be a blood trail from the body that went approximately 15 feet along the railroad tracks. The deceased man’s matching sandal was found around six feet from the body. Investigators found a piece of paper face down on the ground a foot away from the body. The paper was an eyeglass prescription in the name of Gabriel A. Perez, 44, who was positively identified as the deceased party through his driver’s license photo.
Police located Perez’s vehicle later in the afternoon on May 25 on Prosperity Avenue, about a half mile from where his body was found.
Perez’s family members told police that he had left a gathering at about 4 p.m. on May 24 to meet friends at a brewery and said he’d be back. Perez’s family did not hear from him again.
Cellphone records also showed four phone calls made to or from the same phone number between 4:46 p.m. and 6:51 p.m. on May 24. Cellphone data indicated the phone with that number was in the area of the crime scene before, during and after the crime.
Police reviewed railroad videos from passing trains that showed Perez’s body “clearly visible” at the location by at least 8:55 p.m. on May 24 in the same position it was later found.
Additional video showed Perez’s vehicle parked on Prosperity Avenue by 7:02 p.m. and other video showed two men, one believed to be Perez, walking onto the railroad tracks at 7:03 p.m.
Police later found Perez’s bloody cellphone with the assistance of a police K9. The phone contained fingerprints that did not belong to Perez. The phone number Perez had been communicating with also sent a map pin to Perez’s phone near the spot where Perez was murdered.
Police were able to identify Ramos Castro through more surveillance video that showed him coming and going from a nearby apartment building about a half mile from where Perez was murdered.
A warrant was executed and Ramos Castro was arrested on June 4. Charges say Ramos Castro matched images of the man police had seen on video with Perez prior to the murder.
Ramos Castro communicated during a Mirandized interview with police through a Spanish translator.
Ramos Castro said he was from El Salvador and has lived in Minnesota for three years working construction and painting. Ramos Castro initially claimed he had only met Perez once and didn’t know his name, and that Perez had hired him to help remove construction debris from a residence. Ramos Castro denied having a friendship with Perez or socializing with Perez.
Ramos Castro acknowledged that he was the only one to use the phone previously identified by police. When police showed Ramos Castro that he frequently communicated with Perez, he acknowledged that Perez called him frequently about jobs and with invites to eat or smoke marijuana. Ramos Castro said he had blocked Perez because he felt Perez was calling him excessively. Ramos Castro denied that Perez had made sexual advances or acted inappropriately toward him.
After initially denying meeting Perez at the location, Ramos Castro admitted that Perez had made unwanted sexual advances toward him and that Perez had grabbed Ramos Castro’s arm and genitals.
Ramos Castro said he became enraged and felt he had to defend himself, then stabbed Perez with a pocketknife. Ramos Castro said he couldn’t remember how many times he stabbed Perez due to his overwhelming anger.
The medical examiner identified that Perez had been stabbed multiple times, including in the carotid artery and trachea. Perez’s large bowel was eviscerated, and he sustained injuries to his lungs, liver, and small bowel.
Ramos Castro remains in custody on $2.5 million bail, and his next hearing is scheduled for July 30. Alpha News reached out to ICE for comment and is awaiting a response.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
