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27 years given in teen attack
Man who pummeled Spotsylvania girl gets 27 years in prison
Date published: 10/7/2006
By KEITH EPPS A man who brutally attacked a Spotsylvania teenager after she ignored his whistle was ordered yesterday to serve 27 years in prison. Jose Domingo Ramirez, 29, was sentenced to a total of 60 years in prison in Spotsylvania Circuit Court. Judge Joseph Spruill suspended 33 years. Ramirez had previously pleaded guilty to aggravated malicious wounding and abduction for his Aug. 16, 2005, attack on teenager Rebecca McDonald. Rebecca, who was 15 at the time, suffered severe eye injuries in the attack that continue to give her trouble. According to the evidence, Rebecca was on her way to a friend's house in Olde Greenwich subdivision when she walked past Ramirez. Ramirez, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was doing work on an unoccupied townhouse. As the girl passed, Ramirez whistled and shouted "mamacita," a Spanish term used by men to tell a girl he finds her attractive. The girl ignored Ramirez and kept walking. Moments later, Ramirez ran up from behind, grabbed the girl and pulled her down a hill. Rebecca fought back fiercely, according to the evidence. She screamed for help and bit and scratched her attacker. Ramirez pushed the girl's face into a small stream and smashed the left side of her face with a large rock. James Snyder, a high school teacher who lived in the neighborhood, heard the screams and saw Ramirez hit the girl with the rock. Snyder yelled at Ramirez, who then stopped the attack and ran off into the woods. Police apprehended him a short time later. Rebecca's left eye socket was shattered and the ligaments holding her eye in place were severely damaged, court records state. She has undergone several surgeries, but is still having problems. Ramirez's attorney, Allen Bareford, said Ramirez claimed he was too drunk that day to remember the unprovoked attack on a stranger. He also said Ramirez had been using cocaine. Ramirez has also been convicted of two burglaries in Prince William County that occurred about a month before the attack on Rebecca. His three sisters testified on his behalf yesterday. All three said they'd suffered physical abuse from their alcoholic father in El Salvador and suggested that was a factor in their brother's behavior. To reach KEITH EPPS:
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 10/7/2006
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