THE NIGHT I UNKNOWINGLY ARRESTED THE NIGHT STALKER
The lights of Lucky’s Market buzzed overhead at 12811 Victory Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA, casting harsh shadows across the aisles on that fateful night of October 2, 1980. Positioned at the corner of Coldwater Canyon, this grocery store had become a magnet for heroin addicts targeting cartons of cigarettes and liquor, which they would later resell on the street to support their drug habits. My partner, Dennis Miller, and I were working undercover, our eyes scanning the store as part of our operation to combat the surge in retail theft plaguing the San Fernando Valley.
What began as routine surveillance shifted into chaos with explosive violence. A tall, lanky male suspect burst through the entrance and struck a woman with shocking brutality, ripping away her purse before bolting toward the exit. The woman’s scream pierced the air as Miller and I launched into pursuit, our unmarked status giving us the advantage of immediate response.
The suspect moved with an unsettling agility through the parking lot, his movements precise despite his apparent desperation. The parking lot lights cast eerie shadows as we closed the distance. After jumping over several backyard fences, we finally caught up to him. What followed was far from a typical arrest. His body coiled with a feral energy I’d never encountered before – wiry but devastatingly strong. He fought with a silent, predatory intensity that made the hair on my neck stand up. No threats, no pleading – just focused, animalistic resistance.
His eyes held something that would haunt me years later – a dark, calculating wildness that seemed to evaluate our every move. He twisted and thrashed with surprising strength, requiring both of us to finally subdue him without escalating to deadly force. Even after we had him properly restrained, that unsettling alertness never left his gaze, though his body language shifted to an almost docile state.
Following protocol, I snapped a Polaroid photograph of him once we returned to the store. He carried no identification but verbally identified himself as Ricardo Ramirez. I completed his arrest report in the field, and he was later booked at the North Hollywood LAPD station on two felony counts: robbery and possession of marijuana for sales. His fingerprints and booking photos joined the multitude of others at the station – just another night’s work in a city full of crime.
Fast forward to August 31, 1985. Richard Ramirez, now identified as the notorious Night Stalker, was arrested for 14 brutal murders. But here’s where fate played its hand. While moving from my residence after the murders, I was having lunch with fellow officers helping me relocate when a Tupperware box of old photos toppled. A single Polaroid slid across the floor, coming to rest between my legs. The room fell silent. There, staring up at me, was the image I’d taken nearly five years earlier – Richard Ramirez, before he became the Night Stalker, before his reign of terror began in April 1984.
The LAPD booking photos and fingerprints from 1980 became crucial evidence in definitively identifying the Night Stalker. The very next day after his photo was broadcast nationwide, East Los Angeles residents recognized and subdued him until law enforcement arrived.
Today, this historic Polaroid is being shared publicly for the first time. It stands as testament to how routine police work can intersect with major cases in ways we never expect. Looking back, those unsettling eyes in the parking lot held the darkness that would later terrorize California. That night, we didn’t just arrest a purse snatcher – we had our hands on a future serial killer, though we couldn’t have known the horror he would unleash.
I still retain that photo, in the same pristine condition as the day I took it. Please take a look at the attached photo. He looked exactly the same there as he did after his horrifying murder spree.
This is Currie Confidential, where every case tells a story, and every truth reveals a story. Share your thoughts below. Have you ever had an encounter that only revealed its true significance years later? I’m particularly interested in hearing from fellow crime thriller readers and law enforcement officers who’ve experienced similar unexpected connections in their careers.
For more detailed specifics on this incident and my other contacts with Richard Ramirez after his serial murder spree arrest, please grab a copy of “Secrets of the Badge,” available anywhere books are sold.