Advertisement

Ramirez Arraigned on Eight Charges in Mission Viejo Attack

Share
Times Staff Writer

Night Stalker suspect Richard Ramirez was arraigned in Orange County Monday on attempted murder and rape charges stemming from an attack on a Mission Viejo couple three months ago.

Ramirez, who faces 14 murder charges in Los Angeles County, was brought from Los Angeles into Central Municipal Judge B. Tam Nomoto’s courtroom under what longtime observers termed the heaviest security ever seen in an Orange County court. Six deputy marshals and several deputy sheriffs were in the courtroom, and four sheriff’s investigators sat with Ramirez in a courtroom holding cell.

It took 45 minutes for the marshal’s office to conduct spectators through metal detectors leading into the courtroom.

Advertisement

Eight Felony Counts

The defendant, a 25-year-old drifter from Texas, was dressed in blue jail clothes. He rocked slightly from side to side in the holding cell, speaking only to answer questions yes or no.

Ramirez is charged with eight felony counts in the Mission Viejo case, which together carry a maximum prison sentence of 60 years. The charges are attempted murder, two counts of rape, two counts of forced oral copulation, two counts of robbery in a dwelling and one count of burglary.

Ramirez is accused of attacking William Carns, 29, and his girlfriend in their Mission Viejo home on Aug. 25. Carns survived the attack despite being shot three times in the head, and his condition has improved steadily. His girlfriend was raped but not shot.

While Carns has no memory of the events of that night, his girlfriend is expected to be the key witness against Ramirez, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. James Enright said.

Fingerprints found in a stolen car that police believe was used in the Mission Viejo attack led authorities to pinpoint Ramirez as the suspected Night Stalker. The next day, on Aug. 31, he was captured in Los Angeles by people who foiled an attempted car theft.

Concentrating on L.A. Case

Judge Nomoto ordered Ramirez to return to Orange County on March 10 to enter a plea. A date for his preliminary hearing will be set then.

Advertisement

Enright said Ramirez’s two attorneys, Arturo Hernandez and Daniel Hernandez, want to concentrate on the Los Angeles case, in which Ramirez faces a possible death penalty, before he is brought to trial in Orange County.

Enright said a preliminary hearing in the Orange County case probably would follow a Feb. 24 hearing in the Los Angeles case. But Ramirez will not be brought to trial in Orange County until “after the Los Angeles case is finished,” he said.

But Enright added that the two Hernandezes (who are not related) told him they want Ramirez to be tried in Orange County before he heads north to San Francisco, where he is charged with murder and attempted murder.

“They apparently want to wrap up the Southern California cases first,” Enright said. “But the ball’s in their court; we’re going to be ready to go any time.”

Neither of the Hernandezes would discuss the case with reporters, citing a gag order imposed by the courts. Los Angeles Municipal Judge Elva R. Soper first imposed the gag order in the Los Angeles case last month. At the request of attorneys for both sides, Nomoto extended Soper’s order to include the Orange County case.

Travel Details Kept Secret

Orange County sheriff’s officials said they could not reveal how Ramirez was brought to Orange County, for security reasons. But they did say that he was escorted by Orange County deputies, was not brought in a jail bus, and was scheduled to return to Los Angeles County immediately after the hearing.

Advertisement

Sheriff’s investigators took more than two months to compile their case against Ramirez. Enright said he decided to file the charges Monday because the time seemed appropriate, with Ramirez still awaiting a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles.

“We’re not going to do anything to interfere with the Los Angeles case,” Enright said. “We’ve been cooperating fully with Los Angeles officials.”

Advertisement