Man suspected of assaulting Indio police officer reenters not guilty plea
A man accused of assaulting an officer during a 2019 domestic violence call, prompting police to shoot him, reentered a not guilty plea today.
Rigoberto Ramirez, 47, of Indio, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, resisting or deterring an officer using a deadly weapon and willful child cruelty.
Ramirez appeared for a post-preliminary hearing at the Larson Justice Center on Friday where he reentered a not guilty plea on the charges, and was scheduled for a trial-readiness conference on March 21.
A Riverside County Superior Court judge found there was sufficient evidence for him to stand trial on the charges back on Feb. 4. He is currently out on $50,000 bail.
The charges stem from an April 30, 2019, domestic violence call at a home in the 81200 block of Daffodil Court in Indio. The caller told dispatchers the suspect -- later identified as Ramirez -- would kill police and relatives in the home if officers showed up, according to Indio police spokesman Benjamin Guitron.
When officers arrived, they found a man in the front yard holding what was believed to be a rifle, according to Guitron.
Officers tried to subdue him using "less than lethal" methods, but he did not put down the weapon -- which turned out to be a pellet gun -- and allegedly assaulted Officer Joshua DeJong with it, according to the criminal complaint.
With Ramirez still holding the weapon, an officer eventually opened fire, striking the suspect, Guitron said. Official reports do not indicate how many rounds were fired at Ramirez, who, after being wounded in a shoulder, went back inside the home but came back out and was subdued by a police canine.
A handgun also was found on Ramirez when he was taken into 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.
Court documents allege Ramirez also caused "unjustifiable pain and mental suffering" to an underage girl identified only as Jane Doe.
