Missoula Police Arrest Man for Threatening Two People With a Gun
Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On January 1, 2023, Missoula Police Department Officers were called to a report of a disturbance in the 1100 block of 34th Street. The individual who called 911 said a male was intoxicated and had a gun. Officers arrived on the scene and approached the apartment.
Officers noticed the door to the apartment was open and they observed at least two adult males. One officer saw that one of the males had an unknown object in his hand. The officer identified himself as law enforcement and ordered the male to come to the door. A few moments later, 36-year-old Cesar Ramirez, opened the door and was holding a semi-automatic handgun.
The officer pointed his department-issued firearm at Ramirez and ordered Ramirez to drop his gun. After a few moments of just standing there, Ramirez threw the firearm into the snow. Ramirez was then taken into custody and placed in the back of a patrol car.
Victim Explains What Happened
An officer then spoke with one of the victims. The victim reported that he was in his apartment with Ramirez and the two had been consuming alcohol. The victim stated Ramirez became upset, left the apartment, and walked back to his apartment with the intention of getting a firearm.
The victim stated when Ramirez exited the apartment, he could hear him yelling at an older gentleman. The victim reported that Ramirez continued to get agitated with the other male and pointed a handgun at the other male. The victim stated this occurred in the parking lot of the apartment complex.
The victim stated he attempted to calm Ramirez down, but it resulted in Ramirez pointing the gun at him as well. Fearing he would be shot or killed, the victim retreated back into his apartment. The victim stated Ramirez followed him and attempted to get into the apartment. The victim was able to close the door to prevent Ramirez from entering, but Ramirez tried to kick the door, with the gun still in his hand. Ultimately, Ramirez was unable to gain entry and left. Court documents indicate the other male was identified and corroborated the victim’s account of events.
Ramirez Appears in Court
Ramirez was arrested and transported to the Missoula County Detention Center. On January 3, 2023, Ramirez made his initial appearance in Missoula Justice Court and Justice of the Peace Alex Beal explained the conditions of release.
“You are going to be part of the pretrial supervision program,” Beal said. “At least once a month, you need the check in with them. You can only be released to them. You are not to possess or consume alcohol or other intoxicants. You are not to go into bars, casinos, or other places like that where alcohol is a primary item of sale. You are not to have firearms, destructive devices, or other dangerous weapons.”
Prior to being released, Beal said Ramirez must surrender all of his guns to some third party and provide proof to pretrial supervision that that has been done.
“You don’t have a criminal history,” Beal said. “That is good. That speaks well to your case. However, there are two counts of assault, two fairly straight forward counts of pointing a firearm at someone. If the allegations are true, that would cause them, quite reasonably, to believe they were going to be killed. That requires some measure on monetary bond under the circumstances. I am going to set it in the amount of $25,000. If you are able to post that, all of those conditions that I mentioned would kick in.”
Ramirez is currently being charged with two felony counts of assault with a weapon.
The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.