Ignacio Ramirez, 43, of Long Beach, California, was sentenced to three and a half years in jail, the maximum sentence for misdemeanor domestic violence, for violating two restraining orders, which included an incident involving his entering his ex-wife’s residence and stealing the children’s dog.
The conviction was praised by Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert, who called the outcome “appropriate and just.”
“The defendant has a history of violence against his wife and disregarding court orders issued to protect her,” Haubert said. “In this case, the only way to protect the victim and the public is to sentence the defendant to jail.”
Long Beach Superior Court Judge Halim Dhanidina sentenced Ramirez on the most recent case, in which Ramirez violated both a civil restraining order and a criminal protective order in August 2015, and also on two probation violations for earlier convictions. In one incident, Ramirez was caught on a neighbor’s security camera circling his ex-wife’s house for nearly two hours while she was inside.
On a separate incident, Ramirez drove into the alley behind her house, entered the property and stole the dog.
The Newfoundland dog, named Rocky, was eventually returned unharmed.
The jury also heard about additional instances in which Ramirez returned to the house and climbed and damaged portions of the back fence, which was erected by the victim to protect her from the defendant.
Ramirez also harassed the victim by fraudulently canceling her utilities and health insurance.
At the sentencing, the judge ordered one charge to be served concurrently with others, so the maximum time Ramirez could serve in jail is two and one half years.
Due to county early-release policies, Ramirez could be released before the end of 2016.
Long Beach Deputy City Prosecutor Pooja Kumar handled the jury trial and sentencing.
“Given the defendant’s menacing behavior toward his own family and his repeated failure to obey court orders, jail is the right outcome for this abuser,” she said.
