4 COs testify on behalf of Calif. parolee

Man avoids 22-year prison sentence for shooting after 4 jail correctional officers testify on his behalf.

By Michael Manekin, Bay Area News Group
San Jose Mercury News

REDWOOD CITY — A parolee convicted of shooting a man in the arm for making sexual comments about his girlfriend avoided a 22-year prison sentence on Friday afternoon with the help of four correctional officers who appeared in court to testify on his behalf.

Juan Carlos Ramirez of Daly City, who turned 32 Thursday, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Clifford Cretan to one year in the county jail and five years probation for the crime.

"I guess he got quite the birthday present from the judge," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. "I guess (the judge) just decided this was someone he was going to gamble on and take a chance. Our view is that gun play doesn't deserve that kind of chance."

One of the reasons Ramirez received a light sentence was because four correctional officers and the director of the county jail's rehabilitation program "Choices" appeared Friday on his behalf, Wagstaffe said. The show of support from law enforcement officials to a defendant was "dramatically unusual," he added.

Nonetheless, prosecutors argued strenuously for a significant prison sentence.

Ramirez was convicted of shooting a man Oct. 29, 2005, after his girlfriend reported that two men made sexual comments to her as she walked home. He grabbed two friends and a gun, and they found the two men who made the sexual comments about his girlfriend sitting on the steps of a home, Wagstaffe said.

Ramirez then allegedly fired a shot at the men, striking one man in the arm. He changed clothes and took a cab out of the area, according to Wagstaffe. A loaded handgun was later found in bushes near the scene of the crime, he added.

Ramirez told authorities he was under the influence of drugs at the time of the shooting, and the county jail personnel who supported Ramirez in court Friday testified that drugs were the reason behind the crime, according to Wagstaffe.

Ultimately, Judge Cretan gave Ramirez the benefit of the doubt.