2 men arrested in 2018 killing of Cathedral City jiu-jitsu instructor
More than five years after a popular jiu-jitsu instructor was shot and killed at his Cathedral City home, two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Ramon Diaz, who owned Palm Springs Jiu-Jitsu, was killed the night of March 28, 2018.
No arrests were made until Tuesday, when Cathedral City police say 48-year-old Kipko Griffin was arrested at his home in Desert Hot Springs. The second suspect, 44-year-old Troy Walter Edmund, who also lived in Desert Hot Springs, was already in jail on unrelated charges. Both men are being held on a $1 million bond.
The night Diaz died, Cathedral City police were called for a gunshot victim about 9:45 p.m. in the 31-300 block of Whispering Palms Trail. Medics found Diaz and took him to a hospital, where he later died.
Investigators eventually obtained surveillance footage that showed a vehicle pulling up to Diaz's home and a person exiting from the passenger door and walking toward Diaz. The person could later be seen running away from the home back toward the vehicle, which was now parked at a nearby intersection. The vehicle then fled the scene.
Cathedral City police detectives honed in on the pair after receiving an investigative lead that led to new information in the case, according to the release.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 2 men charged in 2018 killing of Cathedral City jiu-jitsu instructor
