‘Night Stalker’ Suspect Is Sued for $25 Million by County Man

Suspect Richard Ramirez was sued for more than $25 million Wednesday by a Mission Viejo man who was beaten and shot in the head last August during the “Night Stalker” crime wave.

The suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court on behalf of William R. Carns Jr., 30, seeks $25 million in punitive damages, plus medical expenses, reimbursement for lost earnings and unspecified damages for pain and suffering.

Carns was shot three times in the head during the early morning hours of Aug. 25 as he slept. His fiancee, who was awakened by gunfire, was raped.

Carns’ attorney, Lawrence S. Ross, said his client remains partially paralyzed and suffers from short-term memory loss. “It is obvious he will probably never be back to work again,” Ross said. Carns, who had been a computer programmer, remains in a Long Beach residential program for patients with head injuries.

Ross said he filed the suit to ensure Carns’ claim to any future money Ramirez might receive by selling the rights to his life story.

It is the fourth civil suit filed against Ramirez. The 26-year-old drifter from El Paso has been charged in Los Angeles County with 14 counts of murder and 31 other felonies in connection with the brutal crime spree last year in California. He has pleaded innocent and faces trial on those charges later this year.

Ramirez is charged separately in Orange County with attempted murder, burglary and two counts each of rape, forced oral copulation and robbery in connection with the attack on Carns and his girlfriend. A preliminary hearing has been postponed until June 26, 1987, to clear the way for what is expected to be a lengthy murder trial.