North Highlands man charged with homicide in hit-and-run death, Sacramento deputies say

A Sacramento-area man arrested more than a week ago in connection with a hit-and-run killing in Rancho Cordova was identified Monday by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

Jesus Santiago Alvarez Valencia, 25, of North Highlands was arrested Jan. 31, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The agency contractually runs the Rancho Cordova Police Department.

Alvarez Valencia was arrested two days after Christopher Ceja Ramirez of Rancho Cordova died Jan. 29 after being hit by a vehicle in a parking lot at a business in the 10000 block of Folsom Boulevard, deputies said.

In a previous release, the Sheriff’s Office said dispatchers were notified just after 9 p.m. of a unconscious man in the Folsom Boulevard parking lot.

When deputies arrived, they found Ramirez unresponsive with “significant trauma to his body,” according to the Sheriff’s Office. Ramirez, 29, was pronounced dead by fire personnel.

Another man who had been hit by the same vehicle was hospitalized with minor injuries, deputies said.

Alvarez Valencia, who was arraigned in Sacramento Superior Court on Feb. 2 on felony charges of homicide and attempted homicide, is being held without bail in Sacramento County Main Jail. He’ll return to court Feb. 16.

The motive and relationship between the suspect and victim was under investigation, deputies said.