Man charged in Winkelman murder

A man arrested on unrelated charges during an investigation into a recent murder has now been formally charged with the crime.

Ronnie Quijada, 29, aka "Playboy," was formally charged in Yuma Justice Court Thursday with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 33-year-old Eric Winkelman.

Quijada was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart, who also ordered he be held on a $2 million bond. Quijada also has a $1 million bond on unrelated drug and weapon charges.

In addition to setting Quijada's next court date for 4 p.m. on April 2, Stewart also appointed a public defender to represent him.

On March 13, at approximately 8 p.m., the Yuma County Sheriff's Office responded to a call of shots fired in the vicinity of Crane Street and 37th Avenue. When deputies arrived they found Winkelman suffering from gunshot wounds. He was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

On Thursday a relative of Winkelman's addressed the court during Quijada's hearing and said: "Our family has been forever altered. We cannot express our grief enough over this."

Quijada was originally arrested on March 18 as investigators served a number of search warrants during the course of their  investigation into the murder, according to Capt. Eben Bratcher, Yuma County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

Quijada was arraigned on March 23 in Yuma Justice Court, where he was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a dangerous drug and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person.

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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.