Belton police use DNA evidence to find, charge suspect in 2017 cold case shooting
The murder of Gabriel Brito-Ramirez sat unsolved for nearly four years.
Last week, Charles Branson was arraigned in Cass County Court for the 2017 shooting death of Brito-Ramirez. Branson, who is from St. Clair, was extradited from a federal detention center in Terra Haute, Indiana, and is being held without bond.
Branson, as a result of DNA and electronic evidence, was charged in late 2021 with second-degree murder, attempted robbery, first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Belton officers, on March 30, 2017, were called to the 1500 block of North Scott Avenue on reports of a shooting. Upon arrival they found that Brito-Ramirez had been shot and killed.
When officers arrived at the scene of the shooting on March 30, 2017, they found Ramirez dead on the 1500 block of North Scott Avenue. Metro squad and Belton police worked to find a suspect on the case for more than three years, but were unable to develop enough information to charge a suspect at the time, until the DNA evidence.
Branson will next appear in court on Jan. 19.
