A Pennsylvania man pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon to fatally shooting his stepfather twice and dumping his body on a street in Piscataway earlier this month.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- A Pennsylvania man pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon to fatally shooting his stepfather twice and dumping his body on a street in Piscataway earlier this month.
Julio Ramos, 21, entered his plea before Superior Court Judge Alberto Rivas in New Brunswick in a brief hearing during Ramos' first court appearance on charges he murdered Damon Cruz.
Cruz, 39, was killed in the morning hours of Oct. 3 when Ramos, Cruz, and Ramos' friend, Jerry Burk, 20, were driving back to Allentown, Pa. from New York.
Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor R. Scott LaMountain told Judge Rivas that the three men drove to New York to "make good on a drug deal that had gone bad."
"They were traveling back," LaMountain said, adding Ramos was in the back seat, Burk was driving and Cruz was in the front passenger seat of the car. "After arguing, Mr. Ramos shot the victim twice, once in the neck and once in the head, above the left ear."
RELATED: Pa. man shot his stepdad on ride home, dumped his body in N.J., prosecutor says
Authorities said last week when the arrests of Ramos and Burk were announced that the shooting took place as they were driving on Interstate 287, leading Burk to drive off onto Centennial Avenue where they dumped Cruz's body, got back onto the highway and continued their journey home to Allentown, Pa.
LaMountain said investigators have seized Burk's car that was "filled with blood," and found the gun used to shoot Cruz "in a safe in the defendant's residence."
He also told the judge all three had gang ties, "especially the defendant."
LaMountain made his comments in his efforts to convince the judge to keep Ramos bail at $1 million. The bail had been set previously by another judge.
Rivas agreed to keep Ramos' bail at $1 million.
Cruz's body was found by a passerby the morning of Oct. 3 and later that afternoon Ramos and Burk were arrested. They waived extradition last week and were brought to New Jersey. But Burk, whose bail was set at $100,000, was released from the Middlesex County jail over the weekend when he posted bail.
Ramos is charged with murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Burk was charged with hindering an investigation by dumping the body and was charged with tampering with evidence for cleaning his car, a 2010 Mazda four-door sedan.
Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.