SAN CARLOS — A 61-year-old Oklahoma woman was sentenced Thursday to 18 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a San Carlos store owner during a robbery more than 30 years ago, prosecutors said.
Rayna Ramos, also known as Rayna Hoffman, pleaded no contest on Sept. 27 to one count of second-degree murder and admitted to using a firearm in the commission of the crime, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
In addition to the prison term, Ramos was ordered to pay $8,800 in restitution to the California Victim Compensation Board and a Restitution Fund fine of $5,000, prosecutors said.
Ramos has 915 days, or roughly 2½ years, credit for time served, according to the district attorney’s office.
The case was only solved last year when detectives obtained a journal in which Ramos expressed regret for killing Devonshire Little Store owner Shu Ming Tang, prosecutors said.
On April 26, 1993, Ramos entered the business at 20 Devonshire Blvd. at the direction of her husband, who instructed her how to use a handgun to commit the robbery, according to the district attorney’s office. Ramos’ husband waited outside in a car.
Tang resisted and fought with Ramos, who fatally shot him during the struggle, prosecutors said.
Ramos’ plea agreement allowed her to plead no contest to second-degree murder instead of first-degree murder.
“Ms. Ramos’ remorse for what she did is sincere and her early guilty plea saved the victim’s family the sorrow of having the case go to trial,” District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. “The 18 years to life in prison was a fair outcome for all concerned.”
There was not enough evidence to prosecute Ramos’ husband, according to the district attorney’s office.
Tang’s murder rocked the city and was featured on “America’s Most Wanted,” but his killer remained at large for decades. In 2018, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office revisited the case and identified a person of interest living in Washington County, Oklahoma.
Oklahoma authorities were investigating an unrelated case when they found Ramos’ journal, according to NBC Bay Area. At the time, Ramos, a former resident of San Mateo, was living in Dewey, a small town roughly 46 miles north of Tulsa.
Detectives with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ramos on March 16, 2022. She was booked into Washington County jail on a first-degree murder charge and later extradited to the Bay Area.
Tang’s wife sold the Devonshire Little Store shortly after his death and it remained in operation through May of this year, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal.