Last defendant sentenced today in killing of Jerry Ramirez
By Mike Cruz on December 4, 2008 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |
A man charged in the shovel beating and deadly shooting of 22-year-old Jerry Ramirez in 2005 was sentenced today as friends and family of the victim, some of whom wore dark-colored memorial t-shirts, looked on.
Judge Brian McCarville sentenced Edward Vincent "Vinny" Hernandez to 50 years to life in state prison during proceedings in San Bernardino Superior Court.
A jury found Hernandez guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and found true a special allegation for the use of a gun in the death of Ramirez, whose badly beaten body was found dumped in Waterman Canyon with seven close-range gunshot wounds to the head in November 2005.
Hernandez, 28, had received two criminal trials and was the last of four defendants to be sentenced in the case.
"I believe justice is definitely served in this case," Deputy District Attorney Karen Khim said after the sentencing, speaking specifically about Hernandez.
Ramirez was taken to a carport at an East Pumalo Street residence and beaten multiple times with a shovel about noon on Nov. 18, 2005, according to prosecutors. Witnesses testified about hearing and seeing the beating.
Still alive, Ramirez was rolled up in blankets, put into the trunk of the defendant's car and taken from the home. Two days later, the victim's body was found with two gunshots in his mouth, four gunshots on the side of his face and one more on the top of his head, prosecutors said.
The victim's grandfather, Jesse Ramirez, said the case isn't over for him.
"It's never really over," Jesse Ramirez said. Referring to biblical passages, Jesse Ramirez said he believes the defendants should have received the death penalty for killing his grandson.
Evidence of the victim's blood was found at the Pumalo Street location and in Hernandez' car, Khim said. "He was still alive when they had him in the trunk of the car," she said.
Prosecutors never determined a specific motive for the killing, Khim explained. However, Ramirez had been in a three-year relationship with Tina Lopez, who was only 15 years old at the time of the shooting, and the defendant had been involved in a gun deal with the victim and Edward Hernandez, the defendant's father, according to prosecutors.
After juries deadlocked in two trials for the 50-year-old Edward Hernandez, he took a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to one count of being an accessory in October. He was sentenced to three years in state prison, but the court considered his sentence completed based on credits for time already served.
Co-defendants Benjamin Hernandez, 52, and Alfred Ray Rodriguez, 21, were convicted earlier this year and sentenced in August. The brother of Edward Hernandez, Benjamin Hernandez was sentenced to 16 years to life in state prison, while Rodriguez got 15 years to life, according to Superior Court records.
These people deserve everything they get... SUFFER SUFFER SUFFER all of u!!!
rip jerry i will miss you and all our long distant phone calss love and miss u love vanessa