Garfield County Jail deputy arrested on domestic violence charge

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Garfield County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sergio Leonel Ramirez-Ayala was arrested Tuesday on domestic violence charges and taken to the Garfield County Jail.

Officers responded to a call just outside New Castle about an ongoing domestic dispute around 3 p.m. Tuesday and subsequently confirmed the suspect was Ramirez-Ayala.

The victim, a woman who lived with him, reported that the defendant grabbed her and “didn’t let her out,” according to the affidavit for arrest without a warrant. The victim reported on the phone that he had hurt her and would not let her call the police “immediately.” She also reported that she was afraid that the defendant would harm himself because he had access to weapons.

Upon arrival, police transported the victim to her neighbor’s home and returned to the apartment to ask Ramirez-Ayala to leave the home, which he did without confrontation. He told the officer that he and the victim had had an argument and admitted to locking the door to the house so she wouldn’t “come outside and cause a scene by screaming and yelling,” the affidavit said .

The victim told police that she confronted him about a suspected affair and told him to leave the house. He refused, and the victim began grabbing the defendant’s clothing in another room and throwing it to the floor, at which point Ramirez-Ayala grabbed the victim by the jacket and wrapped his arms around her, throwing both of them to the floor.

According to the victim’s statement, he grabbed her to stop her from leaving and told her not to call the police; When she tried to call for help using her cell phone and her home phone, he took the cell phone out of her hand and “took” the home phone away from her. Ramirez-Ayala denied taking the house phone, although an officer’s observation of the room revealed that the phone’s rear battery cover was missing.

Ramirez-Ayala and the victim have been in a romantic relationship for five years and have a child together.

He was booked into the Eagle County Detention Center.

During a hearing Wednesday, he was counseled on the allegations by Garfield County Magistrate Jill McConaughy. Fees include:

• Domestic violence
• Interference with telephone service
• Harassment (shoves, punches, kicks)
• False imprisonment

Obstruction of telephone services and harassment are class 1 misdemeanors and are punishable by 364 days in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000 each. False imprisonment is a Class 2 misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of 120 days and a $750 fine.

McConaughy set a personal recognizance bond (PR bond) for Ramirez-Ayala at $1,000. Additionally, she approved a victim protection order that, among other things, prohibited Ramirez-Ayala from contacting, harassing, intimidating, threatening, or entering the victim’s premises. He must leave the victim’s home and not communicate with her, directly or indirectly, with the exception of electronic contact for education and organization of childcare and exchanges. McConaughy approved a “civilian standby” for Ramirez-Ayala to remove his personal belongings from the home.

Through a Spanish-English interpreter, the victim explained: “I don’t want him to be in the house, but we have a child together. So… I would like the possibility that we can communicate by phone, not for us, but for the child… the boy asked for him.”

Assistant District Attorney Tony Hershey said he agreed to contact the defendant by telephone to collect his belongings and arrange parenting responsibilities with the victim.

Ramirez-Ayala was told that he must surrender all firearms and ammunition in his immediate control and that he is prohibited from purchasing or controlling firearms and from possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages and other controlled substances.

He is expected to appear in court again on June 5.