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A man suspected of killing a 64-year-old grandfather in a hit-and-run nearly three decades ago was arrested after a viewer recognized him during a rerun of America’s Most Wanted.
Leslie Ruby, 64, died outside his Des Moines, Iowa, home on September 29, 1997. The married Korean War veteran’s wife and daughter both died before the suspected killer could be brought to justice.
Ruby was riding his lawn mower across the street in front of his home after cutting the grass at his daughter’s house when he was struck by a car.
“He was hit in front of the driveway to the house next door and ended up in front of our driveway, so he was carried about 150 feet by the impact,” neighbor Dan Anderson, who still lives beside Ruby’s former home, told WBAL.
The driver kept going and “didn’t even stop to help,” Des Moines Police Sergeant Paul Parizek said in a video posted on Facebook.
Police soon identified Gerardo Garcia-Michel, who was 28 at the time, as a suspect. Investigators believed he had fled Iowa, and a lead suggested he might have gone to Southern California. That search ultimately produced no results.
A year after the crash, America’s Most Wanted featured Ruby’s case in the hope that national exposure would generate new information.
Nearly 29 years later, the broadcast finally produced a breakthrough. A man in New Jersey contacted Crime Stoppers after watching a rerun and said he recognized Garcia-Michel as his neighbor.
Leslie Ruby, 64, was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his lawn mower home in Des Moines, Iowa, on September 29, 1997.
Ruby’s wife, Patricia Ruby, died before her husband’s suspected killer could face justice. The couple, pictured together, had one daughter and one granddaughter.
America’s Most Wanted featured Ruby’s case a year after his death. The Korean War veteran is pictured in uniform as a young man.
Gerardo Garcia-Michel was featured in the America’s Most Wanted episode. He was arrested last month after a viewer who saw the broadcast submitted a tip.
The Des Moines Police Department identified Garcia-Michel shortly after the hit-and-run, and a warrant remained outstanding for nearly 30 years.
Investigators interviewed witnesses in 1997, but no one could provide a detailed description of the driver, Parizek said.
Police knew only that Ruby had been struck by a large, dark-colored vehicle with no license plates.
Several days later, an officer found a parked vehicle matching that description. It had extensive damage to the bumper and windshield, and investigators traced its purchase records to identify Garcia-Michel.
Because Garcia-Michel had relatives in Southern California, detectives believed he may have gone there. The lead, however, did not result in an arrest.
Police also pursued several tips that arrived after the America’s Most Wanted broadcast, but none led investigators to Garcia-Michel.
The case changed on August 4 of this year, when the New Jersey tip was received. The informant included a photograph, and although Garcia-Michel had clearly aged, investigators compared the images and became “pretty confident” they had found the right man, Parizek said.
Des Moines police contacted authorities in New Jersey, who investigated the lead and arrested Garcia-Michel on August 26, according to records from the Ocean County Jail.
Garcia-Michel was 28 at the time of the hit-and-run, and he is pictured at that age. Police said he evaded arrest by slightly changing his name and date of birth
Police identified Garcia-Michel as a suspect after discovering he had purchased this damaged car that matched the description of the car that hit Ruby
He was charged as a fugitive from justice, the records show. Parizek said that his department is working on extraditing Garcia-Michel to Iowa.
The sergeant also said that over the years, Garcia-Michel slightly changed his name and date of birth, which is how he was able to evade arrest for so long.
Ruby was killed just a few months before he would have celebrated his 40th wedding anniversary with his wife, Patricia Ruby. She died three years after he was killed.
‘I always think it was from a broken heart,’ Ruby’s granddaughter, Shonna, said in the video released by the Des Moines Police Department.
Shonna’s mom, Shirley, who was also Patricia and Leslie’s only daughter, died in 2013.
‘They both would have wanted to find some kind of justice in this,’ Shonna said.
Ruby’s wife, Patricia, and his daughter, Shirley, both died before Garcia-Michel was arrested. They are pictured holding his wanted posted
Ruby’s granddaughter, Shonna, said her mom and grandma ‘can finally rest in peace knowing that almost 30 years later people don’t give up on you’
‘I think they would’ve been happy now, and they can finally rest in peace knowing that almost 30 years later people don’t give up on you,’ she added through tears.
‘It doesn’t matter if its 29 minutes, 29 days or 29 years after a crime. Getting answers for the family is one of the most important things we can do as an organization, and our detectives work hard every day to do that,’ Parizek said.
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