Massage spa murder suspect pleads not guilty

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jorge Rivera-Ramirez is accused of robbing and killing Sihui Fang, the owner of Wonderful Massage.

According to court documents, Rivera-Ramirez and a partner, Juan Carlos Hernandez, went to the massage business in January to rob it. When Fang pulled a gun and fought back, shots were fired and Fang was killed.

Rivera-Ramirez was also shot.

"When the victim attempted to run out of the front door, they dragged her back into this business by her hair," said Shonetta Estrada, prosecutor.

KOB 4 heard more about the case two months ago in court proceedings for Hernandez. According to court documents, Rivera-Ramirez admitted to police that the two had robbed other massage businesses in the past.

Prior to that deadly shooting, APD had actually arrested Rivera-Ramirez when he was caught driving without a license plate. Court records show he was eventually released from MDC and just days later, he alleged robbed Wonderful Massage.

Rivera-Ramirez is now out of the hospital and had a court hearing Friday. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, including murder and armed robbery.

Prosecutors are looking toward the next step in the process – keeping him in jail before trial. His pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for Monday.