Man pleads guilty, is sentenced for hit-and-run that injured teen in Lacey crosswalk
An Olympia man was sentenced to a total of 7-1/2 years in prison last month in Thurston County Superior Court after pleading guilty to charges related to a hit-and-run that injured an 18-year-old near Lacey last fall, along with drug-related charges stemming from efforts by the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force.
Prosecutors charged Jesse R. Ramirez, 32, with hit-and-run resulting in an injury, tampering with physical evidence, and making false or misleading statements to a public servant in fall 2019.
He was accused of driving the car that hit 18-year-old Nyah Hart Sept. 30, while she was crossing the street in a crosswalk at Steilacoom Road and Pacific Avenue, then driving quickly away from the scene.
According to a prosecutor’s statement supporting probable cause for the charges:
Security footage from a nearby store showed a dark, four-door car turning left onto Steilacoom Road and striking Hart when she was near the middle of the crosswalk, causing her to flip and hit her head on the concrete.
Hart was transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia. She suffered a broken leg, an abrasion to her foot, a sprained knee, and a minor head injury. The driver drove quickly away from the scene without stopping.
A Crime Stoppers tip prompted detectives with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office to interview Ramirez, who named someone else as the driver, according to the probable cause statement. According to court documents, Ramirez had left the car he was driving in a different location.
The investigation ultimately led to a warrant being issued for Ramirez’s arrest in October, according to previous reporting. Commissioner Rebekah Zinn set bail at $15,000, which documents show he posted in November.
According to a prosecutor’s statement of probable cause, while out of custody in April Ramirez sold about 51.5 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential source with the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force, which led to his arrest May 26.
A judge then ordered him held on $25,000 cash or bond in the hit-and-run case and $10,000 in the drug case, which court records show he posted. In the drug case, prosecutors charged him with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, methamphetamine.
While out of custody for the second time, the Narcotics Task Force conducted a buy-bust operation June 2 that again resulted in his arrest.
This time, he was held until further order before Judge John Skinder ordered him held on $50,000 cash or bond in the second drug case, consecutive with other cases. In his initial drug case, a judge set bail at $50,000 cash or bond, and in the hit-and-run case a judge set bail at $75,000.
In the second drug-related case, prosecutors charged him with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, with intent to deliver.
Court records show Ramirez requested the court reconsider his bail multiple times, but was denied.
In a motion for bail reduction and appointment of new counsel filed Aug. 5, his defense attorney wrote that Ramirez was unable to post the total bail amount of $175,000 and wished to participate in parenting classes and chemical dependency treatment, but classes had been put on hold at the jail due to COVID-19.
The deputy prosecuting attorney in his cases had stated in open court that Ramirez had been trying to contact the Narcotics Task Force about conducting controlled buys for them, defense attorney Karl Hack wrote. Ramirez and people around him started receiving death threats as a result, according to the motion, and the window of his car was broken in.
The Olympian tried to contact Hack by phone for this story but was unsuccessful.
Ramirez’s criminal history includes five past felony convictions in Thurston County and Maricopa County in Arizona, according to court records.
After Ramirez pleaded guilty, Hack recommended concurrent Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative sentences of 28-1/4 months in prison followed by 28-1/4 months in community custody for the hit-and-run, about a year for the other two counts connected to that case, and 45 months in prison plus 45 months in community custody on the drug charges.
But Judge Chris Lanese, aligning with prosecutors’ recommendation, sentenced Ramirez to 60 months for the hit-and-run and about a year for the other counts connected to that case. Lanese also ordered Ramirez not to have contact with Hart, who addressed the court along with her father at sentencing, according to court record.
Prosecutors recommended 100-month sentences for the drug charges, but Lanese sentenced him to 90 months in each case with 12 months in community custody. Conditions include that he’ll undergo evaluation for substance use disorder and comply with any recommended treatment.
He’ll serve the sentences concurrently, so will spend 90 months total behind bars, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Elizabeth McMullen explained to The Olympian when reached by phone.
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
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