GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo.—An attorney for a man who was arrested and then released after the shooting of a police officer said investigators may have relied on an “extremely unreliable” informant when they jailed him.
Sergio Esteban Ramirez was arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer three weeks ago but was released Wednesday after prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to charge him.
A second man arrested on suspicion of the same charge, Mauricio Villa Garcia Pena, 20, was released Thursday, also for lack of evidence.
Ramirez, 20, of Glenwood Springs, was arrested after an officer was shot and wounded on July 29. The officer, whose name has not been released, was wearing a bulletproof vest and was not seriously hurt.
Ramirez’s attorney, Ted Hess, raised questions about whether police acted on information from another man arrested on a drug charge. The informant has not been charged in the officer’s shooting.
District Attorney Martin Beeson declined to respond to Hess’ suggestion, saying, “I can’t speculate on the speculations of Mr. Hess.”
Beeson also declined to comment on whether charges might still be filed.
“No one is off our radar screen,” he said.
Ramirez’s family accused police of using excessive force and unnecessarily destroying property during the arrest and a search.
Beeson said the searches and arrests were done legally and reasonably.
“When you have a no-knock warrant, the judge obviously knows there’s going to be some damage,” Beeson said.
“These are dangerous situations. We view them as dangerous people. We take every legal and reasonable precaution we can and we make no apologies for the constitutional efforts we have made to this point,” he said.
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Information from: Glenwood Springs Post-Independent,
