Man pleads guilty to killing girlfriend, dumping body on US-131

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A man has pleaded guilty to murdering his girlfriend and dumping her body beside a Grand Rapids freeway in March.

On Monday, 25-year-old Brandon Ortiz-Vite, who officials say was in the U.S. illegally, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder, one count of carjacking, one count of carrying a concealed weapon and one count of using a firearm in the commission of a felony for the March 22 murder of 25-year-old Ruby Garcia. Her body was found shortly before midnight on southbound US-131 near Leonard Street.

He faces at least 30 to 37 years in prison plus a mandatory two-year sentence on the felony firearm charge.

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said that Garcia’s family wanted the plea deal instead of going to trial.

“…There’s always the (possible) pitfalls of what may happen at trial. Although we have a very good case, and I wasn’t worried about losing it, but things happen. Things could be overturned. It could be a mistrial,” he said. “So this was done in consultation with the family and this was their wishes. There’s much more certainty with a plea than if you take it to trial.”

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 31. Becker said that once Ortiz-Vite serves his time, federal immigration authorities would take over.

Ortiz-Vite was arrested on March 24 after he called Allegan County 911 from Ganges United Methodist Church.

In the recording of the 911 call, Ortiz-Vite can be heard saying, “I’m calling ’cause I wanna turn myself in for a murder I committed two nights ago.”

In the recording, Ortiz-Vite can be heard explaining that he was in the back of the church and that a service was going on. He also admitted he was armed.

Below, listen to the full 16-minute call:

Ortiz-Vite had spent the night at the church, the pastor previously told Target 8. The pastor said he identified himself as Brian and was clearly upset, though he didn’t tell her what he had done. She said he accepted her invitation to their 10 a.m. Palm Sunday service and sat at the back. She noticed he was gone sometime during her sermon. He had gone to the bathroom to call 911.

In a May hearing, a state police detective sergeant testified that Ortiz-Vite told him he hadn’t planned to kill Garcia that day. The detective said Ortiz-Vite had been drinking and using cocaine. Ortiz-Vite told police he was upset because Garcia wanted to break up with him after about a year together. Garcia’s sister told News 8 that the pair had known each other for about a year but were not boyfriend and girlfriend.

She was driving him home when she pulled over on US-131 and told him to get out, leading to a fight, the detective testified. Ortiz-Vite refused to leave the car.

“During that altercation, he remembered that he had his handgun with him,” the detective said. “I believe he said it was instinct that he then reached for the gun and shot her multiple times inside the vehicle.”

Ortiz-Vite first entered the U.S. illegally as a child. He was later approved to stay under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, more commonly known as DACA.

DACA was created in 2012 by an executive order signed by then-President Barack Obama. It allowed so-called “Dreamers” brought to the U.S. illegally as children to get work permits and remain in the country as long as they were living constructive lives. They were allowed to seek renewals every two years.

ICE told Target 8 that Ortiz-Vite’s DACA status expired in May 2019. By that time, he had already served 30 days in jail after he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home and stood over her bed in the city of Wyoming in 2018, records show. It’s not clear why he wasn’t deported then. In September 2020, he was deported following a drunken driving arrest in Grand Rapids, then returned to the U.S. illegally, immigration officials have said. It’s not known when he came back.

The slaying led former President Trump to Grand Rapids , where he blamed President Joe Biden’s border policy.

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