Live Oak man makes plea deal in kidnapping; victim won't testify
Sutter County prosecutors struck a plea deal on Friday with a Live Oak man after the 17-year-old girl he was accused of torturing and kidnapping refused to testify.
Javier Alexander Ramos pleaded no contest in Sutter County Superior Court to a single felony count of inflicting corporal injury on the girl.
Clint Curry, deputy Sutter County district attorney, said given the victim's refusal to cooperate and the defendant's "youth and apparent drug use," prosecutors were left with few options.
"This was the best resolution that could be achieved," Curry said Friday.
Prosecutors dismissed charges of kidnapping, torture, mayhem, making criminal threats, obstructing law enforcement and four drug possession charges in exchange for the no-contest plea.
Ramos faces up to one year in the county jail, probation and will likely be required to enroll in both drug abuse and anger management classes when he is sentenced April 12, authorities said.
Ramos, 20, was arrested Sept. 28, a day after Sutter County sheriff's deputies said he kidnapped and tied up the girl in a wooden shed behind a home in the 2600 block of Nevada Street in Live Oak. Authorities said Ramos assaulted the girl and put a cigarette out on her body.
Ramos was upset when she ended their relationship, prosecutors said.
The girl escaped about two hours later when she was left unattended in a bathroom and climbed out a window, investigators said. Ramos was arrested a few hours later.
It's unclear if Ramos and the girl have resumed their relationship, Curry said. But she has refused to testify.
Ramos' attorney, Jesse Santana, declined comment on Friday.
Prosecutors believe the incident was fueled by a mix of booze, marijuana and methamphetamine experimentation.
"The issue at the heart of this behavior is a drug problem," Curry said.
Judge Brian Aronson released Ramos from custody pending sentencing and ordered him to stay away from the victim.
Rachel Raygoza, 29, has been identified as a second suspect, but investigators said her role remains unclear.
Prosecutors are still considering whether to file charges against Raygoza.
CONTACT Rob Parsons at rparsons@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4785. Find him on Facebook at /ADcrimebeat or on Twitter at @ADcrimebeat.
