Man convicted in gang-related murder and separate knife assault

By Atascadero News · Fri Feb 13 2026

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — A San Luis Obispo County jury has convicted Angel Ramosramirez, 31, of the 2022 gang-related murder of a 20-year-old Oceano man and, in a separate bench trial, a 2021 knife assault on a teenager, District Attorney Dan Dow announced.

On Sept. 9, 2025, a jury found Ramosramirez guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Daniel Diaz, who was stabbed 10 times during the early morning hours of June 4, 2022, on a street in Oceano. Jurors also found true allegations that the killing was committed for the benefit of the West Park criminal street gang and that Ramosramirez used a knife in the attack. The West Park gang operates primarily in Santa Maria.

Following the verdict, Superior Court Judge Jesse J. Marino found true that Ramosramirez had a prior 2016 Santa Barbara County conviction for making criminal threats for the benefit of the same gang, qualifying as a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law.

In a separate case, Judge Marino on Jan. 29, 2026, found Ramosramirez guilty of assault with a deadly weapon stemming from a Sept. 4, 2021, stabbing at a party in Nipomo. Ramosramirez waived his right to a jury trial in that case. The judge found that Ramosramirez stabbed a teenager in the chest, used a knife, and personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim.

Although both cases were charged together, the court ordered separate trials to protect the defendant’s due process rights, with the murder case tried first.

“We will aggressively prosecute violent crime in our community.  Particularly violent gang crime, which far too often targets our disadvantaged population,” Dow said. “We remain committed to working closely with our local and regional law enforcement partners to guarantee successful prosecutions and appropriate sentences in cases of gang violence.” 

Sentencing for both convictions is scheduled for April 28 in Department 10 of San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. Ramosramirez faces a maximum sentence of 41 years to life in state prison.