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Road Rage Victim Identified as Fremont Man

Livermore man to be arraigned Friday on a murder charge.

A man who died after being stabbed during a road rage incident Wednesday has been identified as Ricky Ziesmer of Fremont, said M. Brooks, a deputy in the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau.

Police said Ziesmer, 48, was in a traffic-related dispute with Livermore resident Cort Holbrook, who later in the day was arrested on a murder charge and booked at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

He is scheduled to be arraigned at 11 a.m. Friday in Department 701 of the Gale-Schenone Hall of Justice in Pleasanton.

Both men pulled their vehicles into a parking lot on Old First Street downtown near the and .

Ziesmer ended up with a stab wound in the left side of his upper torso, officials said. He then got back into a 2002 gold Chevrolet Cavalier he was driving and headed to the south entrance of the on East Stanley Boulevard in Livermore.

The health center does not offer emergency services, which are based at ValleyCare's Pleasanton facility.

A staff member then called police to report a victim of a stabbing at about 1:40 p.m.

Ziesmer was transferred to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he died at 5:47 p.m.

Two small terrier-type dogs left in the vehicle he was driving were taken by police. Also, Ziesmer's clothing and other belongings were seen scattered on the floor near the health center's south entrance during a police investigation.

Meanwhile, Holbrook was seen by witnesses with a bloody face and entering a 2003 grey Chevy Silverado pickup after the incident downtown.

He called police to report the road rage incident, Sgt. Brian Martinez said.

Holbrook was found with an abrasion on his face and refused medical attention when emergency crews arrived on scene. He was taken to the for questioning during the initial investigation.

A knife police believe was used in the stabbing was found at the scene on Old First Street, Detective Tony Esquivel said.

The incident marks the city's second homicide this year and does not appear to be gang-related, police said. Detectives continue to investigate the city's first homicide of 2011, a reported in January.

Court records show Holbrook is a software engineer. He is being held with no bail.

Anyone involved in a road rage incident is asked to drive to the nearest police station or call 9-1-1 from a cell phone.

"You never know who that other person in that vehicle can be," Martinez said.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call Livermore police at 925-371-4987.

Jon March 11, 2011 at 01:47 am
Jus another guy from this crazy town all I can say is wow!! Well this guy deserve it to be thrown out in jail , frankly he should be in mental hospital since their is some abnormalities that goes on his head actually every where in his head. Though I think the hospital did a horible job , sure they call the authorities but they can't prevent a guy from dying? I smell a law suites! I mean wow! They send him to another hospital , Idk, I just think it was a poor judgement
Kari Hulac (Editor) March 11, 2011 at 01:04 pm
Hi, we would like to talk to you "annonmus" for our story, so feel free to email kris.noceda@patch.com, but we can't allow an anonymous comment to be posted that makes statements about the character of a man being charged with a crime.
debby ziesmer March 12, 2011 at 05:42 am
memorial fund in care of Ricky Ziesmer at Bank of America
libertarianchick March 13, 2011 at 12:45 am
I'm curious. I'm not saying what he did was right, but why is his face black and blue? Did they duke it out? Did he get that in jail? Did the police do it? Was it in self defense? What happened to his face?
Kari Hulac (Editor) March 13, 2011 at 01:20 pm
According to witnesses, the two got into a physical fight in a parking lot before the stabbing.
David Mills (Editor) March 13, 2011 at 02:00 pm
Hello RS:
We had to delete your comment due to inappropriate language. We don't allow even simulated curse words as part of our terms of service. Please resubmit without that language.
jen March 15, 2011 at 10:04 pm
I honked at this guy a couple of weeks ago. He cut me off, backed up, got out of his car and came towards me. I sped off. Thank goodness I did!
marissa March 15, 2011 at 10:27 pm
Jon they had to take him to eden because he needed a trauma center and valley does not have one. Although I a don't know why he couldn't have gotten care there I mean its er and they do surgery there and what did we do before we had trauma centers.
Leah Rhodes March 16, 2011 at 02:18 pm
March 16, 2011
Ricky was a wonderful son and it was a true blessing to be his mother. He was a guy with a huge heart and always wearing a beautiful smile. Regardless of the situation he was always there to help anyone even willing to give a stranger the shirt off of his back. Everywhere I look I can’t help but to see him. (all of our little projects around the house, the swing he hung in the back yard, the tire swing he hung for Kadin, the little boy next door, his boat and fishing poles sit under the shed were Ricky parked them in the fall, I can’t help but cry every time I pet Lady, Ricky's best friend a stray dog that found & took in, I could keep on for weeks and months and even years typing memories of my precious son, Ricky. This senseless act of violence is all still so unreal to me. It's as if I’m having a horrible nightmare and can’t seem to wakeup. My heart goes out to the family of the man who did this my son. Two families are now suffering a horrible and tragic loss. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers they mean so much to me & my family. I truly feel each and every one of them. God Bless each and every one of you. *Ricky you will always live in my HEART and your memory will never quit flooding my mind* LOVE, Ricky's Momma (Marilyn)
luana searle March 19, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Rick was always there for everyone.... If he had $10 you had $5, thats the way he was.... I never got to meet his mom but from the way Rick talked about her I could tell that he truely loved his mom with all his heart.... I am so sorry for your loss, Rick will be missed! Our prayers go out to you....
A lways- Tiny and Kerry
Martin Lassen March 25, 2012 at 04:53 pm
I worked with Cort Holbrook at Ciena Corporation and NEVER knew him to be anyone but honest and compassionate. When a fellow co-worker was dying from a serious medical condition, Cort was the first to step-up and offer assistance in any way possible. I consider Cort to be a person of even temper; meaning, he would not act in anger unless legimately provoked. If the same circumstances applied to me, I would have used any tool at my disposal considering the surroundings (a broken piece of glass, a rock, a chair, or a knife) to protect myself and my life. Cort's facial bruises and scrapes are quite telling.
Cort's attorney knows who I am and how to contact me. I have offered to testify on Cort's behalf as a character witness at his trial.

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