An alleged California cult member accused of conspiracy to commit murder looked defeated in his first court appearance where his bail was set at $2 million dollars.
Ramon Duran Jr., sporting a goatee and orange jumpsuit, stood in front of a San Bernardino County judge Wednesday to face the charges of suspicion of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection to the 2023 death of Emilio Ghanem.
The criminal stayed quiet and looked subdued, a courtroom observer told The Post.
Duran, 44, was captured by police in Nashville on January 12th after a manhunt related to the disappearance and killing of Ghanem, a member of a group called His Way Spirit Led Assemblies. The group has been described as “cult-like” and connected to several murders, according to the LA Times.
Two other members of the alleged cult, Shelly Bailey “Kat” Martin, 62, and her husband Darryl Muzic Martin — also charged in Ghanem’s murder — appeared in the same courtroom as Duran Wednesday. The couple both asked for their $2 million dollar bail to be lowered to $100,000 each.
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Shelly Martin, who was in a wheelchair, is in bad health according to her attorney who accused the Sheriff’s Department of threatening to take her wheelchair away while she was incarcerated.
Martin wore a green jumpsuit, and was seen gritting her teeth and scratching her left arm a lot, according to the court observer. Prosecutors have identified Martin as a leader of His Way Spirit Led Assemblies.
Ghanem joined the group over two decades ago and helped establish Fullshield Inc., a pest control business managed by the organization, his sister Jennifer Ghanem, told The Times.
Ghanem left the so-called cult in April 2023 and returned to Nashville where he started his own pest control company, his sister said.
In May 2023, he visited the Redlands area to reconnect with former clients, but received a cease-and-desist letter alleging he was taking business from the group’s pest control company.
Seventeen days later, Ghanem was reported missing after visiting a Starbucks in Redlands.
Police later found his rental truck burned in the Mojave Desert.
The Martins and former group member Andre Thomas, 48, were also charged with murder in the death of 4-year-old Timothy Thomas, who died from appendicitis 10 years ago.
