Cold case murder suspect faces drug charges

Cold case murder suspect faces drug charges

(Rick Egan/File)


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SALT LAKE CITY — A man charged in a cold case homicide investigation now faces an additional charge of dealing drugs, according to court records.

Thomas "Peanut" Pennington, 48, was charged in 2011 in 3rd District Court with first-degree felony murder in the 1986 death of Patricia "Smurf" Ramirez, 20. Her body was found on a hillside east of Memory Grove. An autopsy determined Ramirez was strangled.

In 2012, Pennington was bound over for trial following a preliminary hearing.

But the case has since stalled due to issues surrounding evidence. Because of that, the court decided to release Pennington from the Salt Lake County Jail to pretrial services on March 27 this year.

The other option was for the Salt Lake County Attorney's Office to dismiss the case and possibly refile it at a later time. Pennington had been in jail since Oct. 31, 2011.

On Oct. 28, Pennington was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of five drug-related charges. He was released from jail three days later pending official charges.

On Nov. 3, Pennington was charged in 3rd District Court with three counts of drug possession, two second-degree felonies and one third-degree felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.

According to charging documents, Pennington and another man were found in a room at the Royal Garden Inn, 154 W. 600 South, where heroin, meth and marijuana were being sold.

Based on his new charges, a judge on Nov. 14 revoked Pennington's release to pretrial services and issued a $1 million arrest warrant. He was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Saturday.

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