Indio OIS suspect pleads not guilty to assault of officer

A man accused of threatening to shoot family members and any police officers who responded to his home today pleaded not guilty to three felony charges, including assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer.

Rigoberto Ramirez, 44, of Indio also pleaded not guilty to resisting or deterring an officer using a deadly weapon and willful child cruelty, according to court records.

The weapon allegedly used by Ramirez was a pellet gun.

About 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a domestic violence call at the home in the 81200 block of Daffodil Court, according to Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron. An unidentified person who called from the home said the suspect would kill police and relatives in the home if officers showed up, Guitron said.

When officers arrived, they found a man in the front yard holding what was believed to be a rifle, but it was not immediately clear if that was confused with the pellet gun, Guitron said.

Officers tried to subdue him using “less than lethal” methods, possibly bean-bag rounds, Guitron said. With Ramirez still holding the gun, an officer eventually opened fire, striking the suspect, Guitron said.

Official reports do not indicate how many rounds were shot at Ramirez.

After the shooting, the suspect managed to walk back inside the home but then came back out and was subdued by a police canine. At some point before his arrest, court documents also allege that Ramirez assaulted Officer Joshua DeJong with the pellet gun. Guitron was not able to corroborate that an officer was shot or that a pellet gun was used.

A handgun also was found on Ramirez while in custody, according to Guitron.

No other injuries were reported. At least one other adult — believed to be the man’s wife — was inside the home during the shooting. However, court documents showed that Ramirez also caused “unjustifiable pain and mental suffering” to a girl identified only as Jane Doe.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Central Homicide Unit took control of the investigation Tuesday, while the unnamed officer who shot Ramirez was put on administrative leave per policy.

Ramirez was being held on $35,000 bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional facility in Banning, jail records show.