DES MOINES, IA — A recent rerun of an America’s Most Wanted episode from 1998 has led to an arrest in a fatal hit-and-run that killed a Des Moines resident in 1997. Police say the renewed attention to the case helped identify the driver in a crash that had gone unsolved for nearly three decades.
The victim, Leslie Ruby, was struck and killed after being hit by a vehicle while outside his home on the east side of Des Moines. He was 24 years old.
Des Moines police say the case moved forward after the episode aired again in August 2026, opening the door to new tips and a fresh review by investigators. On Aug. 24, 2026, police announced the arrest of Gerard Garcia-Michel, who is now 55.
How a televised cold case drew new attention
The case had first reached a national audience in 1998 when it was featured on America’s Most Wanted. After the episode was rerun decades later, detectives revisited the material and worked with partners to narrow in on a suspect.
Police said the renewed attention was important because the original investigation had long gone cold. The crash happened in January 1997, and Ruby’s family was left without answers for years.
According to Des Moines police spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek, the episode’s rerun helped extend the reach of the investigation beyond its original audience. That reopened the possibility that someone with information could come forward or that a viewer might recognize details tied to the suspect.
What investigators say happened in 1997
Ruby was struck by a car as he was driving his lawn mower back to his home after mowing his daughter’s lawn, Parizek said in a video posted to YouTube. He was trying to return home on the east side of the city when the vehicle hit him.
Authorities later recovered the vehicle involved and identified Garcia-Michel as the driver, police said. The identification did not happen quickly. It came only after years of stalled efforts and what detectives described as a long search for workable leads.
Investigators said Garcia-Michel left the state after the crash, and that move made the case more difficult to pursue. Police also said Ruby’s family remained without answers during the years that followed.
The long search for Gerard Garcia-Michel
Garcia-Michel was first named in a warrant in January 1998, but police said he remained at large and the family was left without answers. Officers later continued to investigate the case as new information surfaced over the years.
On Aug. 2, 2024, police received a tip that the case had aired again on America’s Most Wanted and that the caller recognized Garcia-Michel. Detectives in the Des Moines Police Department’s Intelligence Section followed up with local authorities in New Jersey, which helped lead to the arrest.
Police said Garcia-Michel made minor changes to his name and date of birth over time, and they believe that complicated efforts to track him down. That, along with the passage of time, appears to have kept him out of reach until the renewed tip came in.
Arrest in New Jersey and the years that followed
Garcia-Michel was arrested in New Jersey on Aug. 24, 2026, after Des Moines detectives worked with local authorities there. Police said the arrest ended a case that had stretched from the 1997 crash through years of investigation and repeated effort.
He remains held in a New Jersey jail while his extradition to Iowa is processed. Police said the Iowa investigation is continuing.
Authorities have not said whether additional charges are expected beyond the hit-and-run case tied to Ruby’s death. For Ruby’s family, the arrest marks the first major break in a case that had lingered unresolved for most of three decades.
Why the case still matters to Ruby’s family
Ruby’s granddaughter, Shonna, said in the video that the family never understood how someone could leave after causing such a loss. She said the fact that Ruby was a veteran made the killing even more painful for relatives who had spent years waiting for answers.
Police said the family was left without answers after the crash, and the case became one of those rare investigations that survives for decades because officers never fully stop looking. The eventual arrest shows how older television coverage, a viewer tip and modern follow-up can still reopen a dormant investigation.
Des Moines police have continued to review the case as it moved toward extradition. For now, investigators say their work is not finished, but they believe the long-delayed identification of Garcia-Michel finally brought the case closer to resolution.
