County gives killer, 19, to immigration agency

Hector Saul Ramos, 17, Springdale, WASHCO, first degree murder
Hector Saul Ramos, 17, Springdale, WASHCO, first degree murder

FAYETTEVILLE -- A Springdale teen convicted of fatally shooting another teen has been released from a juvenile jail into the custody of federal immigration services.

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Kelly Cantrell, spokesman for the Washington County sheriff's office, said Hector Saul Ramos, 19, was picked up Thursday afternoon by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ramos had been in the county's youth lockup for more than a year.

Paul Waddell, an attorney for Ramos, said earlier this week that his client was brought to the United States as a young child by his parents and was eligible to petition to remain in the country under federal immigration rules until last week's felony conviction.

Bryan Cox, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in New Orleans, said Monday that the agency had a hold on Ramos.

"If he was convicted of a felony, that in and of itself falls into the highest category we have for individuals who are subject to removal," Cox said.

Ramos was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Fabian Rodriguez, 18, and two counts of first-degree battery for the shootings of Savanna Smith, 22, and Juan Araujo, 15, in the early morning hours of March 13, 2015.

After three hours of deliberation, the jury returned with guilty verdicts on both first-degree battery counts but opted to find Ramos guilty of the lesser charge of negligent homicide rather than a murder charge.

Negligent homicide is a misdemeanor, and the battery charges are both felonies. He was sentenced to a suspended jail term and probation. Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor ran the sentences concurrently.

Ramos, who was 17 at the time of the crime, was charged as an adult. Rodriguez and Araujo went to Ramos' home with a machete and a 4-foot iron pipe, according to testimony. They threatened him and yelled at him to come outside. Ramos shot through his bedroom window, fatally striking Rodriguez. He wounded Araujo as he fled, and Smith as she sat in a car.

State Desk on 05/14/2016

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