Leavenworth Man Charged With Murder In Death Near East Wenatchee

A 34-year-old Leavenworth man is now charged with 1st and 2nd Degree Murder after being accused of killing a man outside East Wenatchee. 

Douglas County prosecutors have also charged Travis Earl Collins with 1st Degree Assault and 2nd Degree Robbery. 

Investigators say Collins shot and killed 35-year-old Julio Cesar Garcia-Ramirez during a late-night drug transaction Feb. 1. 

Garcia-Ramirez was found face down in a pool of blood next to a pickup truck shortly afterward. 

Collins was arrested by the East Cascade SWAT team last Monday before making his first court appearance last Tuesday. 

In an affidavit of probable cause, detectives said Garcia-Ramirez last phone call was made to Collins earlier the night of his death.  

Deputies also say the two texted each other that night and arranged for a drug transaction.  

Once in custody, Collins denied killing Garcia-Ramirez. He said the last day he'd seen Garcia-Ramirez was on January 22.  

Deputies say he then told them he did meet up with Garcia-Ramirez the day of the murder to use his .40 firearm as collateral in exchange for cocaine from Garcia-Ramirez.   

Officers had recovered .40 shell casings from the murder scene on February 1st.  

Collins was a Chelan County Public Works employee who set to be terminated by Chelan County commissioners on Monday. 

Collins is in jail on $2 million bail and will be arraigned as early as Thursday. 

His four charges all contain a special allegation that he was armed with a firearm, which would increase the prison term by five years on each charge.