Daniel Ramos sat quietly in the second row of a Limestone County Court room Monday as the judge sentenced the man who killed his brother.
When Limestone Circuit Judge Bob Baker accepted Mario Alberto Flores’ guilty plea to felony murder and sentenced him to serve 22 years in prison, Daniel hoped it would have been more.
“Of course, I would like for him to get more time,” Daniel said through his interpreter, Assistant District Attorney Edward Alley. “I would have liked him to get the maximum, but I understand. I am satisfied with what the District Attorney Kristi Valls’ Office and the Athens Police have done.”
Pedro Ramos was killed in a senseless shooting at a Fifth Avenue apartment house in Athens two days after Christmas in 2008. Investigators believe the accused — Flores, 28, and Antonio Perez Ramos, no relation to Pedro — were trying to rob Pedro of money to buy beer when he was shot four times in the back.
Originally charged with capital murder and first-degree robbery, Flores was facing a life sentence or the death penalty if convicted during a trial set to begin Monday. By pleading guilty to the lesser charge of felony murder, Flores faced a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 99 years.
Since the shooting, Daniel, 24, and his family members have pushed for justice for Pedro, said Investigator Katrina Flanagan. They have gone to every meeting held to prepare for the case against the accused killers.
In the courtroom Monday, Daniel was there alone but his brother and the rest of his family were present in his heart. As sheriff’s deputies escorted Flores from the courtroom in shackles and a black and white prison uniform, Daniel stared hard at him but did not speak. Flores looked straight ahead.
Defense attorney Robert Patterson of Huntsville said he was satisfied with the outcome of the case.
“It is terribly unfortunate that someone lost his life,” he said, adding that his client ”clearly made some poor choices.”
He did not, however, believe it was clear who shot Ramos or whether the two intended to commit robbery.
He said four people saw the shooting: Pedro, who was killed; Flores, who contends Antonio Ramos shot Pedro; Antonio Ramos, who contends Flores shot Pedro; and a witness at the apartment house who said the darker of the two Hispanic men — which is Flores — was the shooter.
However, Patterson said, the witness admitted he had been drinking.
Flores will be given credit for jail time already served. He has been jailed since Dec. 28, 2008, in the Limestone County Jail. He will serve his sentence at Kilby prison.
Local News
February 22, 2010
Flores pleads guilty to murder, sentenced to 22 years in 2008 shooting
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