Atwater PD were dispatched to the 100 block of Kim Avenue for a threats report.
Incident happened on Wednesday, at 7:30 p.m.
During the investigation it was learned that the victim’s ex-girlfriend, Jillian Johal and her new boyfriend, Ramon Maldonado, 10/18/90 residents of Chowchilla, were in a dispute over childcare, police say.
During the dispute, Maldonado allegedly made several threats toward the victim and his family stating that he was going to kill them. Maldonado further allegedly tried to dissuade the victim from making a police report. Allegedly this was accomplished by making further threats of harm by the use of FaceTime to send pictures of his weapons to reinforce the threat.
APD Officers learned that Maldonado was traveling from Chowchilla to Atwater to carry out the threat. Atwater PD set up surveillance near the victim’s residence. During the Surveillance, Maldonado was spotted driving his girlfriend’s vehicle near the residence and felony traffic stop was conducted on the vehicle. Ramon Maldonado was taken into custody without incident. During the arrest, Maldonado was wearing a GPS Monitor. Officers leaned that Ramon Maldonado was wearing the monitor while on bail for an aggravated kidnapping case out of Stanislaus County.
During a search of the vehicle, a loaded Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol was found stashed under the driver seat and latex gloves were found on Maldonado’s person.
Further follow-up was conducted at the residence in the Chowchilla Area. Officers gathered information that led to the seizure of an unregistered assault rifle.
Maldonado was booked into the Merced County Jail for the following charges:
Conspiracy to commit murder, Criminal threats, Dissuading a witness, Prohibited person from possessing a firearm and ammunition, Committing a crime while out on bail.
This case is still under investigation anyone with information on this case or other criminal activity is encouraged to contact the Atwater Police Department at (209) 357-6384.
