Ramirez
Prosecutors charged an Indianapolis man with multiple felonies following a manhunt and police-action shooting last week in Bargersville.
Efrain Ramirez, 46, is charged with four counts of pointing a firearm, three counts of resisting law enforcement and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by an alien, all Level 6 felonies. If convicted, he could face up to 22.5 years in jail.
The chain of events began about 9:26 p.m. Dec. 9, when Bargersville police observed a driver fail to signal a turn near State Road 135 and Whiteland Road. Police pulled over the truck near Saddle Club Road and Morningside Drive because they believed the driver was behaving oddly, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Friday in Johnson County Circuit Court.
When police spoke with the driver of the truck, later identified as Ramirez, he told them he did not have a license, and they could smell a strong alcoholic odor coming from him. Police asked him if he had consumed alcohol and he said “no,” according to court documents.
Ramirez wrote down a fake name for police, said he did not know his date of birth, and that he had an ID from Mexico in his truck. Police asked him to get the ID. He allegedly looked through several papers in his truck, looked back at police, started his car and fled the scene. Police later identified the driver as Ramirez through fingerprints, court documents show.
Police pursued Ramirez through the Morningside neighborhood and into downtown Bargersville before he got out of his vehicle near a home on Old Plank Road. Police continued to pursue Ramirez on foot, and one officer saw Ramirez point a gun at her and heard a click at the same time. The officer said later the area was not well-lit when she saw the gun. A second officer saw Ramirez carrying a silver gun with his hand on the trigger. Ramirez refused to stop and officers lost site of him for several hours, according to court documents.
The following morning, on Dec. 10, Bargersville police were joined by deputies from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and an Indiana State Police trooper to help find Ramirez after a Bargersville officer saw a man matching his description near the intersection of Old Plank Road and Short Street. When the officer confronted him, he ran, court documents show.
Officers eventually found Ramirez running through the backyards of several homes on Old Trail Drive. A sheriff’s deputy ran into Ramirez and asked him to stop at gunpoint. Ramirez drew a weapon and pointed it at himself, then backed away from the deputy before pointing it at the deputy. The deputy fired three shots at Ramirez as he fled the yard. A state police trooper then ran into Ramirez and asked him to drop the gun, and Ramirez pointed the gun at him. The trooper fired 11 shots at Ramirez, and he dropped to the ground, according to court documents.
Ramirez attempted to stand up, and officers asked him to stay on the ground. When sheriff’s deputies attempted to place Ramirez in handcuffs, he resisted, and law enforcement tazed him. Officers recovered a handgun from where Ramirez had dropped to the ground, court documents show.
The sheriff’s deputy was wearing a body camera, but the state trooper was not, according to court documents.
Ramirez was arrested and taken to an area hospital for treatment following the incident.
Officers searched the truck Ramirez was driving and found gun ammo, an unloaded rifle, both full and empty beer bottles and receipts with two different names on them, court documents show.
Indiana State Police was asked to lead the investigation due to the involvement of multiple agencies. The agency is often consulted in situations involving officer-involved shootings, Johnson County Prosecutor Joe Villanueva said in a news release.
“I want to commend all the law enforcement agencies who stepped up and worked together to locate and capture a dangerous individual before any residents or officers could be harmed,” Villanueva said. “We at the prosecutor’s office look forward to presenting the evidence gathered in court to hold Mr. Ramirez accountable for his actions.”
Ramirez also has a pending case from 2015 in Marion County for failure to appear in court after operating a vehicle while intoxicated and fleeing the scene of an accident, prosecutors said.
Ramirez remains at the Johnson County jail. An initial court date has not been set. The prosecutor’s office asked the sheriff’s office to reach out to federal authorities to request an immigration hold on Ramirez due to his immigration status, according to the prosecutor’s office news release.
