A jury acquitted him of murder. But he now faces prison because of his immigration status

Less than a week after a Bradenton jury acquitted Juan Carlos Ramirez on a second-degree murder charge, he was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents.

The jury believed Ramirez had feared for his life on Oct. 17, 2015, when he shot and killed Jose Luis Mendoza Aguilar, known around the neighborhood as “the ice cream man.” But Ramirez had entered the country illegally from Mexico, and therefore broke federal law by being in possession of a firearm, according to authorities.

On Wednesday morning, Ramirez pleaded guilty to a federal charge of illegally being in possession of ammunition ahead of a pending trial in the case. He now faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

In the murder case, Ramirez sought immunity under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, claiming Mendoza Aguilar was armed with a club when he confronted him at a barbecue.

The victim did not back away when Ramirez brandished a Dickson Model Cheyenne .38 caliber special revolver, or when he fired a warning shot, so he shot the him for fear for his life, he later told a jury during his trial on the state murder charge.

On Nov. 2, 2017, a jury acquitted him on the murder charge and Ramirez walked out of the courthouse a free man.

But the state attorney’s office had already contacted the U.S. Border Patrol agent in charge of the case about the pending trial before the jury had reached a verdict, according to an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint. The following day, the lead prosecutor in the case let the agent know that Ramirez had been found not guilty.

On Nov. 9, 2017, deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office found Ramirez at a home in the 300 home of 22nd Street East in Bradenton and notified Border Patrol agents, who responded to his father’s home.

Ramirez admitted to agent that he was in the country illegally, according to the complaint signed and dated Nov. 17, 2017.

Ramierz’s defense attorney in both cases, Richard Reinhart, said the state prosecution of a man defending himself “pathetic.” The federal case, he added, was an act of “vengeance.”

“Apparently, this administration thinks you should let yourself be killed and not defend yourself if you are in this country illegally,” Reinhart said.

Ramirez will be sentenced in August.

This story was originally published May 29, 2019 at 3:53 PM.