Police arrested Leonardo Ramos yesterday in connection with Tuesday morning’s quadruple stabbing after one of the victims in the brawl identified him.
Although Jose Ramos, who was stabbed in his right side in the incident, initially told police he did not know the other man involved in the fray, he admitted under questioning yesterday that the man was his younger brother.
With the help of Montgomery County Police, Prince George’s County Police arrested Leonardo Ramos, 21, at his Kensington home at about 4:30 yesterday morning. He has been charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder, four counts of first-degree assault and four counts of using a dangerous weapon with intent to injure. Police said Leonardo Ramos, who is being held at the Hyattsville jail, has no prior criminal history.
The maximum sentence for conviction on all counts would be more than 200 years in prison.
The fight, which involved as many as 10 people, eight of whom were students, erupted in Thirsty Turtle’s back bar after 1 a.m. Tuesday. After the participants were ejected from the bar, the brawl escalated on Route 1 outside Cornerstone Grill and Loft, where police said Leonardo Ramos allegedly cut four people involved in the fight. County police later found a knife outside Cornerstone as they swept the area for evidence.
District 1 Commander Robert Liberati said police believe the knife they found early Tuesday is the knife that was used to slash Jose Ramos and three students — junior Amir Itani and sophomores Erik Gaul and Matthew Stevens — but he added that the weapon has not yet been subject to forensic tests.
The victims, who were released from the hospital Tuesday, incurred serious injuries during the fight but are recovering, Liberati said at a news conference yesterday. Although police said the three student victims, all of whom were under 21, were drinking prior to the brawl, they have not been charged with any crime. Police also have not brought any charges against Jose Ramos but noted that the investigation is ongoing.
Police produced a photo of man they have since identified as Leonardo Ramos after reviewing surveillance footage from Turtle and then distributed wanted fliers with the description of a Latino man with a slim build and a black mohawk.
When police arrested Leonardo Ramos at his home yesterday, officials said, he had shaved his head in what they called a deliberate attempt to hide from officers. In his mugshot, taken yesterday, Leonardo Ramos is sporting a bald head and a black eye.
“There was a great motivation on his part to get away from this situation, to hide from police,” Liberati said at the news conference, adding that Ramos has been cooperative since his arrest.
University Police Chief David Mitchell, who spearheaded the effort to join university and county police forces, said he hopes county officials will join him in taking a critical look at Turtle.
“Thank goodness it was a knife and not a gun,” Mitchell said. “Secondly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen alcohol-fueled behavior leading to conflict that, in this case, led to serious injuries. Again, it leads back to a bar that caters to underage drinkers, over-serving and who is not a good neighbor to our university.”
University administrators echoed this sentiment.
“We’ve heard these rumors for a long time,” Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Warren Kelley said of Turtle. “We’re not against responsible drinking or students enjoying themselves. But The Thirsty Turtle has been aggressive related to their intent in getting students to drink. They have propagated very aggressive drink specials.”
Office of Student Conduct Director John Zacker, who handles cases of students charged with crimes and of underage drinking among students on the campus, said he supports Mitchell’s crackdown on Turtle, particularly the undercover “integrity test” Mitchell orchestrated last month in which he sent two underage student police aides into Turtle with cash and their real state IDs. The students, Mitchell has said, were allowed to enter and purchase beer at the bar.
“The chief is taking a different approach because that kind of establishment has an effect on our students,” Zacker said. “I have to give him credit for that. His relationship with the PG County Police helps us in the long run of this great endeavor.”
Zacker said the students involved in the skirmish likely won’t receive any university sanctions but added that could change if any students end up facing criminal charges.
Kelley added though he has his concerns about Turtle, the bar deserves due process to determine the extent of its culpability. He supports Mitchell’s push to give it a fair but expedited review.
Mitchell, who sent a letter to the Prince George’s County Board of License Commissioners requesting that Turtle’s liquor license review hearing be held immediately, said he expects to receive a response in days.
Several students, who expressed concern over the bar’s future, said Turtle should not be faulted for Tuesday’s incident.
“The bar shouldn’t be to blame,” freshman business major Michael Kehoe said. “People have their differences; they’re going to fight.”
Some weren’t quite ready to see the three-year-old establishment shut down.
“It will change the entire scope of how people will go out,” sophomore journalism major Tommy Harrelson said. “It will change things for everyone — even seniors. Turtle is a fallback for everyone. And if it’s closed, a lot of drunk people will be just shoved into Cornerstone or [R.J.] Bentley’s. Route 1 needs to open up more and have more than just bars.”
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