Gabriel Gabe Arrazola Perez, of St. Paul, was found dead between railroad tracks near Case Avenue in the area of Birmingham and Barclay streets on St. Paul’s East Side on May 25. He had been stabbed multiple times.

Arrazola Perez’s phone records showed he’d called and received a call from the same number on the night of May 24.

Investigators tracked the number and conducted surveillance on a man seen on gas station video coming and going from an apartment on East Seventh Street near Birmingham Street, about half a mile from where Arrazola Perez was killed.

Officers carried out a search warrant at the apartment Thursday and arrested a man, identified as Omar Andres Ramos Castro, 24. He was seen in surveillance videos with Arrazola Perez, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, charging him with second-degree intentional murder without premeditation.

Ramos Castro initially told investigators he only met Arrazola Perez once and didn’t know his name. He said Arrazola Perez hired him to help remove construction debris from a residence, and they didn’t have a friendship or socialize.

When investigators showed Ramos Castro the frequent communication he and Arrazola Perez had, Ramos Castro said Arrazola Perez called him frequently about jobs, and with invitations to eat or smoke marijuana. He said Arrazola Perez had not made sexual advances or acted inappropriately towards him.

Investigators told Ramos Castro that phone records, GPS data, and surveillance video placed him and the victim together by the railroad tracks, He said they were together by the tracks for about 10 minutes, but he left Arrazola Perez there alone and said there were other people on the tracks.

When police asked Ramos Castro if he’d told anyone what happened, he replied, Only me and God.

An autopsy found Arrazola Perez had stab wounds to his back, neck, chest and abdomen, along with defensive wounds to his upper his upper extremities and left hand.

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said Friday that the case is one of the clearest examples I have ever seen about the talent and tenacity of our officers, investigators, and our professional staff. Starting with almost no evidence, those involved conducted an investigation which led to an arrest and a confession.