String of Lawndale attacks nets lifetime behind bars
There wasn't much mystery to what Daniel Ramsey was going to receive for robbing, kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women and a young girl in two different Lawndale crimes. It was clear that Judge Eric Taylor, in sentencing Ramsey to 156 years plus two life terms, wanted to give Ramsey every minute in prison that the law would allow. But there were some interesting points that had to be debated about what the law would allow before Ramsey was sentenced.
One of the main issues the attorneys argued was whether or not the charges of rape and sodomy were two different actions or one crime. The law says that, if it can be determined that the attacker had any time to reflect on his actions and stop them, then there was a break and thus, two different crimes. That was how Deputy District Attorney Jodi Link and Taylor saw it, but not defense attorney Kevin Greber.
The 19-year-old victim testified that, when it was clear Ramsey was going to sexually assault her, she asked him to do it from behind because she mistakenly believed that would reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. Ramsey complied but, after a couple minutes, stopped, re-positioned them and then vaginally penetrated her. That few moments cost Ramsey an additional 50 years to life.
"He had the opportunity to reflect and stop the actions, but chose not to," Link said.
Greber, who repeatedly tried to make clear he wasn't diminishing the ordeal for the victim, gave the "what difference does it make anyway" argument. "Mr. Ramsey's gonna die in prison," Greber added.
The victims both cried, and the rape victim's parents - her mother, father and stepfather - all took turns at the podium to call Ramsey a monster and ask for the maximum.
In a speech heavily laced with references to God, her mother recalled seeing her hysterical daughter, blood dripping down her legs, in the back of the ambulance. She asked God what happened, why he wasn't there to protect her daughter.
"There was silence inside my head," she said. "I did not find any answer."
About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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About the Blogger
Denise Nix knew as young as grade school, when she spent every summer working on the camp newspaper, that she wanted to be a journalist. Denise has spent most of the last 12 years of her career in the courtroom. She joined the Daily Breeze in 2001, where she tracks and reports on hundreds of cases at every level of the justice system. And she's never, ever, seen a judge use a gavel.
E-mail Denise at denise.nix@dailybreeze.com.
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