Third suspect arrested on murder charges in 2023 Redlands missing person case

REDLANDS, Calif. — Redlands police have arrested a third suspect on murder charges in the 2023 disappearance of a Tennessee man last seen at a Redlands coffee shop, authorities announced this week.

Detectives traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, where they arrested 44-year-old Ramon Ruiz Duran Jr. on Monday, Jan. 12, in connection with the disappearance of Emilio Salem Ghanem. The arrest was made without incident at Duran’s place of employment with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Metro Nashville Police Department and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.

Duran was booked into jail in Nashville, waived extradition and was transported back to San Bernardino County. He was booked Thursday into West Valley Detention Center on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder and is being held on $1 million bail, police said.

Ghanem was reported missing May 25, 2023, shortly after visiting a Starbucks at 625 E. Redlands Blvd. Surveillance video later captured a rented Nissan Frontier pickup he was driving in Grand Terrace. Detectives later recovered the truck burned in the Mojave Desert along with additional evidence, police said.

The arrest follows earlier actions in the case. On Dec. 11, 2025, Redlands police, working with the California Department of Justice, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and the Colton Police Department, served search warrants in Hemet and Colton. During those operations, Shelly Bailey “Kat” Martin, 62, and Rudy Franco Moreno, 43, both of Hemet, were arrested on charges including murder, conspiracy to commit murder and weapons violations. Four additional people were arrested on related weapons charges.

Martin and Moreno were arraigned Dec. 15, 2025, in San Bernardino County Superior Court.

Police said Ghanem had been a member of “His Way Spirit Led Assemblies,” a Hemet-based religious organization led by Darryl and Shelly Martin. He left the group shortly before his disappearance. Ghanem also worked for the group’s pest control business, formerly Fullshield Inc., now operating as Maxguard.

The investigation remains ongoing. The case and evidence have been forwarded to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office for filing, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Redlands police at 909-798-7681, ext. 1. Tips and suspicious activity can also be reported through the city of Redlands 311 mobile app or the department’s online reporting system.