By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Four witnesses testified during the first day of a three-day jury trial for a Warsaw teenager accused of shooting a person in April 2023.

Michael Raul Ramirez, 19, Warsaw, is charged with aggravated battery, a level 3 felony; and two counts of pointing a firearm, both level 6 felonies.

Ramirez is being represented by Jay Rigdon, Warsaw. The state’s case is being presented by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek.

In Indiana, a Level 3 felony is punishable by three to 16 years in prison, with an advisory sentence of nine years.

Affidavit of Probable Cause

On April 8, 2023, Warsaw Police officers responded to a shooting at 139 E. Baker St. Upon arrival, the officer saw a man with a gunshot wound laying on the ground. The residence’s homeowner said the shooter, later identified as Ramirez, was behind the home.

According to court documents, Ramirez had an abrasion on the top of his head with a moderate amount of blood around it. Emergency medical personnel responded to the scene and took the man with a gunshot wound to a nearby hospital. Ramirez and three witnesses were taken to the Warsaw Police Department for interviews.

In an interview with officers, a man said Ramirez sent him messages, which led to the man going to speak with Ramirez. During the trial, the man was identified as the brother of a woman Ramirez was dating at the time of the incident.

Ramirez allegedly pointed a firearm at the brother, victim, and two women, and threatened to kill the brother while waving the firearm around.

Ramirez then threatened to shoot everyone in the group, resulting in the victim and Ramirez fighting, with Ramirez shooting the victim.

After Ramirez shot the victim, the brother fought Ramirez to take control of the firearm and felt the barrel graze against his abdomen. The brother grabbed the firearm and secured it in a nearby vehicle.

Meanwhile, Ramirez hit the victim while he was laying on the ground and did not provide any first aid. The brother said he fought Ramirez and threw a pair of brass knuckles onto the residence’s roof.

Ramirez told officers the brother sent him threatening text messages and loaded a firearm once he saw two people outside of his home with their hoods up. He said the victim swung a fist at him, leading Ramirez to push the victim and shoot the firearm.

One of the witnesses said the brother received threatening messages from Ramirez, leading the group to go to Ramirez’s residence to confront him. The witness heard a gunshot and saw Ramirez waving a firearm, threatening to shoot again. When she heard the victim yell that he was shot, she called 911.

The shooting victim said he told Ramirez to put the gun away multiple times, but that Ramirez did not do so and shot him in the back. The bullet lodged itself in the victim’s lung.

Trial Proceedings

Six men and six women were seated on the jury in Kosciusko Superior Court One around 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 11, with Judge Karin McGrath presiding.

In his opening statement, Sobek detailed the facts of the case, describing the scene as “chaos.” He said Ramirez knowingly and intentionally committed the crimes, asking the jury to find Ramirez guilty on all counts.

Rigdon described the case as an incident of “the brother and the boyfriend,” with Ramirez being the boyfriend. He said the brother of the woman Ramirez was dating at the time had a verbal argument with Ramirez. The brother showed up to Ramirez’s location with two other women and the shooting victim, who was described in court as an MMA fighter.

Rigdon said the group of four showed up to the Baker Street property where Ramirez was at, and that Ramirez acted in self-defense.

The state called the two women in the car during the incident as witnesses. One of the women is dating the shooting victim. The women said they were spending time with the brother and victim when the brother messaged his sister, who was dating Ramirez.

The women said Ramirez was not supposed to be at the sister’s residence due to a lack of parental supervision at the time. One of the women said the brother began receiving Instagram messages from Ramirez, which the brother expressed confusion over since he had only been talking with his sister.

One of the women also recalled a prior physical altercation between Ramirez and the brother, which happened about three months prior to the April 2023 incident. The brother punched Ramirez, but the woman said Ramirez did not take any physical action.

One woman testified that they heard the shooting victim yell about Ramirez having a knife. The other said they saw Ramirez brandishing a knife from inside the residence.

The brother was allegedly persistent in wanting to talk with Ramirez, with the shooting victim and two women asking to leave as the verbal altercation escalated. During the incident, the brother also took his phone out to record Ramirez with the gun.

Both women described seeing a purple light, with one of the women saying Ramirez pointed the firearm at her and threatened to shoot her. The second woman said she remembered seeing a laser beam on her chest. The brother and shooting victim were walking to their vehicle to leave when the firearm went off. The shooting victim then yelled to call 911 because he had been shot.

Both women also said the residence’s homeowner refused to give them the exact address of their location while they contacted 911. One of the women said the brother was able to retrieve the firearm from Ramirez, but loaded the firearm and told Ramirez to go back into the residence or that he would shoot.

In cross-examination, Rigdon asked one of the women if they recalled the brother sending a message to his sister to relay to Ramirez about “taking this out to the back yard.” The woman remembered the message and also said she recalled Ramirez asking the group to leave.

The shooting victim’s girlfriend testified that the victim had only been an MMA fighter for six months prior to the incident and had only fought once, with the fight resulting in a loss.

Body camera footage from Warsaw Police Department Corporal Ryan Connors and WPD Officer Ryan Piper was also played in court, with Connors and Piper also testifying at the trial. Connors’ camera footage showed officers arriving at the scene and asking individuals in the Baker Street home to leave the property with their hands up. At one point, someone could be heard shouting, “I got the gun from him.” Piper said a woman exited the home and informed officers that Ramirez had left from the back side of the residence.

Piper took Ramirez into custody and said when he informed dispatch that he had an individual in custody, Ramirez told him he was the shooter. He also said Ramirez was compliant with his commands.

The shooting victim was immediately taken to Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital and then later flown to a hospital in Fort Wayne.

“I was very convinced he was not going to make it,” said Piper about the shooting victim’s condition.

A photo of the victim’s wound to his upper back and the firearm allegedly used during the incident were presented as physical evidence. Piper testified that the victim’s wound had burn marks around it, indicating it was either a very close shot or the firearm was directly placed on the victim’s skin.

Rigdon also submitted an investigative supplemental report completed by Piper shortly after the incident occurred as evidence. In the report, Piper said the victim was in extreme pain and could barely speak, but that the victim said he was at the residence to handle “beef” between Ramirez and a friend.

The trial will continue at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 12, with more witnesses scheduled to testify.