Two Men in Custody in Fatal 2018 Shooting in Cathedral City

CATHEDRAL CITY (CNS) – Recent investigative leads prompted police to connect the fatal 2018 shooting of a Cathedral City man to two suspects, one of whom was arrested Tuesday while the other was behind bars on unrelated charges, authorities said.

Troy Walter Edmund, 44, and Kipko Griffin, 48, are suspected in the March 28, 2018, murder of Ramon Diaz, according to Investigative Commander Rick Sanchez of the Cathedral City Police Department.

Sanchez said officers responded at around 9:45 p.m. that day to a report of a gunshot victim in the 31000 block of Whispering Palms Trail.

“Video surveillance from the surrounding area showed the suspect vehicle pulled up to the victim’s home, the passenger door opened, and the suspect exited the vehicle and walked towards the victim,” Sanchez wrote in a statement. “The suspect is later seen running away from the residence towards the awaiting suspect vehicle that was parked at the intersection.”

The vehicle then sped away from the scene, according to Sanchez. Diaz subsequently succumbed to his injuries as Cathedral City Fire Department personnel were taking him to a hospital.

Sanchez said detectives worked numerous leads but it wasn’t until June, when the department’s detective bureau got an investigative lead, that they were able to identify the suspects and vehicle allegedly involved.

Detectives authored numerous search warrants and conducted several interviews that led them to Edmund and Griffin, according to police.

The Riverside County Gang Impact Team executed a search warrant at Griffin’s residence Tuesday, when they took him into custody without incident, according to Sanchez.

He was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where Edmund was already in custody on unrelated charges, according to inmate records. They both remain held on $1 million bail.

Anyone with information on the 2018 shooting was asked to call Sanchez at 760-202-2488.

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