Murder victim’s family weeps as Las Cruces woman is granted bond until sentencing

Bond is now set for one of four suspects arrested in connection with a man found dead inside the trunk of a burned out car.

Damika Childs was only 19-years old when she was arrested in connection with the murder of Johnny Ramirez.

She could have spent up to 27 years in prison, but accepted a plea deal last July that calls for her to spend anywhere from 15 to 22 years in prison.

The victim’s family wept in court Friday afternoon after learning she would be granted a $10,000 bond pending her sentencing.

The mother of the now 22-year-old Childs says she was on drugs during the September 2016 homicide.

Her attorney argued that Childs has been cooperative in prison and that she has no criminal history. She is also a mother of a four-year-old boy.

The judge accepted the defense argument and granted her bond; a sentencing date has not yet been set.

If Childs posts bond, she will have to return for her sentencing — and serve that time in prison.