Getaway driver in Modesto double murder granted parole. Final decision goes to governor
A different person is holding the office but Stanislaus County prosecutors once again are making a plea to the governor to reverse a parole board’s decision to release one of the participants of a horrendous double homicide.
Ronald Ray Anderson, 60, was one of four then-teenagers convicted of killing Phil and Kathryn Ranzo at their Modesto home in 1979.
After being denied parole nine times, the State Board of Parole found him suitable for parole in 2017 but the decision was reversed by then Governor Jerry Brown.
On Dec. 28, the Board again found Anderson suitable for parole, according to a press release from the DAs Office. If the decision is upheld after a review by another parole unit, Gov. Gavin Newsom will have 30 days to uphold, modify or reverse the decision.
On June 25, 1979, Anderson and three others, Marty Spears (aka Marty Jackson), Jeffrey Maria and Darren Lee, planned a home invasion robbery of the Ranzo home because they believed large amounts of cash were kept inside the home.
In preparation for the robbery, Anderson drove by the Ranzo home as many as five times. The four executed a plan in which Anderson stayed in the car and acted as the lookout while the others knocked on the door of the Ranzo home, pretended to be out of gas and asked to use the telephone.
The teens spoke of an intent to kill the Ranzos and Spears, Maria and Lee went to the house with weapons and rope to tie them up.
Approximately 20 minutes later, Maria and Lee returned to the car in a hurry with envelopes full of cash and jewelry. Without seeking aid for the Ranzos, Anderson drove Maria and Lee to safety and then returned to the Ranzo home to get Spears.
Anderson maintains that he never went into the Ranzo home but trial testimony indicated he saw what happened inside, according to the press release.
On June 26, 1979, the hogtied bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Ranzo were found in their home.
Phillip Ranzo was found dead on the floor of the garage. He had been beaten over the head with a blunt instrument at least six times and suffered a fatal stab wound to the neck.
Kathryn Ranzo was found in the bathroom of the house. She had been raped, struck multiple times in the head with an ax and suffered a fatal stab wound to the throat. Multiple cuts to her eyes and face indicated she had been tortured before her death.
The house had been ransacked, with cash, jewelry and a gun missing.
The murders orphaned their 10-year-old son, who happened to have spent that night at his grandparents’ house.
The teens were convicted of the murders and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But a change in the law decades later allowed offenders who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes to eventually be eligible for parole.
As result, family of the Ranzos have had to attend 29 parole board hearings for Anderson and his crime partners.
At the Dec. 28 hearing, Deputy District Attorney Amy Neumann urged the Board not to release Anderson for the safety of the community and given the heinous nature of his crimes. She argued that he needed additional insight into the role he played in the killings, lacked sufficient parole plans, and had lied to the Board about his involvement in the crime.
The victims’ surviving family told the Board they fear for their safety if Anderson is released, and spoke of the heartache they have endured.
After deliberations, the Board determined that Anderson qualified for both “elderly parole” and “youthful offender” considerations, and that he did not pose a risk to public safety.
The Board’s decision to grant parole advances to the Decision Review Unit of the Board of Parole Hearings which will have 120 days to review the grant of parole. If the unit approves it, the decision will go to Newsom.
This story was originally published January 2, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
