$1 million bond set for manhunt subject


By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The man who was the focus of an intense police manhunt last week winced in pain Wednesday from the wound he suffered when he tried to run from police.

Luis Cruz Ramos, 30, was arraigned in municipal court on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon, as well as a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing. Magistrate Anthony Sertick set his bond at $1 million.

Assistant City Prosecutor Kathy Thompson said more charges are possible today, after the Mahoning County grand jury meets, for the chase that began early last Thursday in Campbell when officers there tried to take Ramos into custody on a sexual-assault warrant from Puerto Rico.

During the chase, Ramos’ vehicle rammed Campbell cruisers and he fired shots on two occasions at Youngstown police officers, damaging a cruiser in the process, before ditching his van on Interstate 680 south in Boardman and bailing out near Lake Park Cemetery, police said.

A search of the cemetery and the area around it found no sign of Ramos, who was spotted Friday walking on the South Side and shot by members of the U.S. Marshals Northeast Ohio Fugitive Task Force after he pulled a gun on them on Maywood Drive, authorities said.

Ramos was released Monday from St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital and booked into the county jail, where he was arraigned via video hookup.

Sertick appointed a lawyer for him.

As he got out of his chair when the arraignment ended, Ramos could be seen wincing in pain and struggling to walk as he was led away.

Thompson said the grand jury also may take up the case today against Jermaine Bunn, 39, who was arraigned on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle. He also is a suspect in the early Sunday shooting death of Michael Pete, 30, at a home in the first block of East Evergreen Avenue.

Police said Bunn was shot in the face when he exchanged gunfire with Pete, but he has not been charged in Pete’s death.

Bunn, who listed a Columbus address, was just released from prison March 31 after serving a seven-year sentence on charges of kidnapping and felonious assault. Sertick also set his bond at $1 million.

Reports said Pete was shot during a party at the home.

Bunn also was discharged from the hospital Monday. Besides the weapons charges, which stems from Pete’s shooting, he also was booked into the jail on a parole violation, which will be handled in common pleas court.

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