The parolee accused of ramming a stolen car into police vehicles ---- prompting an Escondido officer to open fire on the car, killing the parolee's girlfriend last month ---- has been sent back to state prison for violating conditions of his parole, authorities said.

Christopher Ramirez, 27, is not set for release until September 2010, authorities said, giving them more time to investigate and formally charge him in connection with any crimes related to the Oct. 15 encounter that left Jennifer Favreau dead.

"Obviously, we will try to move more expeditiously than that," said prosecutor Summer Stephan, the chief of the North County branch of the San Diego County district attorney's office.

Jerome Marsh, chief deputy regional administrator for the Southern California parole region, said Ramirez's parole violations include assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and murder, as it relates to Favreau's death. Other violations, Marsh said, include possession of stolen property and possession of methamphetamine.

With Ramirez locked away for 10 months, prosecutors will not have to rush to charge him.

In general, prosecutors have three business days to charge a person if they are in jail. And if no charges are filed, the person is released, providing there are no other reasons ---- such as a parole violation ---- to keep them locked up.

Stephan said her office has received some but not all of the findings of the Escondido police investigation. Police said they suspect Ramirez was driving a stolen car when Favreau was shot.

Police said the 31-year-old single mother tipped them to Ramirez's whereabouts hours before the shooting, and they were trying to arrest the convicted car thief when he rammed their cars in an attempt to flee.

At the time of the shooting, Ramirez was on parole following his 2005 guilty plea to stealing a car. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Ramirez violated his parole in October 2008, landing him back in prison for five months before his release from prison in March. He'd been free, but on parole before the deadly encounter.

Aside from the potential criminal charges Ramirez could face, investigators are trying to determine if the veteran police officer who shot Favreau could face criminal charges.

After Escondido police finish their investigation, county prosecutors will review the findings to determine if the officer, Detective Timothy Reiley, should be charged with any criminal wrongdoing. Such reviews are standard; criminal charges against the officers involved are extremely rare.

And on top of the criminal probes, Favreau's family has talked of filing a civil suit. The family's San Diego-based attorney, David Achord, said Wednesday he is still working on the first step: filing a claim with the city of Escondido.

The family has six months from the date of the incident to file the claim. If the city rejects the claim, it clears the way for Favreau's survivors to file a civil lawsuit.

Call staff writer Teri Figueroa at 760-740-5442.