Sheriff Mitch Ralston Reports: On Sunday night, September 17, 2023, deputy sheriffs who’d been alerted that Calhoun Police were in pursuit of a subject who’d fled on foot in the vicinity of I-75 and US 41 North were patrolling that area in search of the fugitive. Deputies observed a Nissan ‘Sentra’ travelling at a high rate of speed and with open doors from Soldiers Pathway toward US Highway 41. The vehicle then made a wild turn into the BP station near the exit. As deputies approached in the parking lot, they could see three occupants struggling with a fourth individual, subsequently identified as one Ramiro Espino, and yelling for help. The deputies quickly identified Ramiro as the aggressor and took him into custody without resistance. The victims, three young, local men, told the investigating deputies that they were in their car when they were approached by Ramiro on Soldiers Pathway. They said that Ramiro used a rock to smash out a car window and forcibly enter the car. Ramiro then attacked the driver with the rock before the car came to a stop at the gas station. Ramiro had told them he “needed to get away from the cops“. The three young men were still struggling with the hijacker when deputies intervened and arrested Ramiro. The deputies collected statements and physical evidence, and both Ramiro and the victims were checked by emergency medical personnel. Ramiro, a resident of Chicago, was jailed and charged by the Sheriff’s Office with ‘Hijacking a Motor Vehicle‘ and ‘Aggravated Assault’, as well as facing investigation by Calhoun Police on unrelated matters. He remains in custody pending judicial proceedings. On Thursday, September 21, Sheriff Mitch Ralston recognized the three young men victimized in the hijacking/assault incident, presenting them with Citizen Service Medals. Sheriff Ralston said their actions resulted in the apprehension of a violent felon, described the young men as “heroic, and that all three were a credit to their families and community”.
LEFT: Ramiro Espino. TOP RIGHT: Front Row: Maj. Ritchie Harris, Kevin Valencia, Bryan Rico, Oliver Cardona, and Sheriff Mitch Ralston, Rear Row: LT. Chad Phillips, Captain Chuck Kirby, Lt. Russ Jones, Captain Ben Worley, Captain Dalyn Pulliam. BOTTOM RIGHT: The arrest of Ramiro Espino.
