Copyright M Live Michigan
SAGINAW, MI — Already convicted and sentenced on the federal level for having a machine gun, a Saginaw man is newly convicted of using that gun to shoot a pair of local teens. Christopher P. Ramirez, 26, on Oct. 27 appeared before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Andre R. Borrello and pleaded no contest to assault with intent to rob, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, and two counts of felony firearm. In exchange, the prosecution agreed to dismiss two counts of assault with intent to murder, four more felony firearms counts, and one count of converting a firearm into an automatic. A sentencing agreement states Ramirez is to serve at least 10 years in prison, concurrent with his federal sentence. Ramirez in April pleaded guilty in the federal realm to possessing a machine gun. In August, U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington sentenced Ramirez to 62 months in a federal prison. All the charges have their origin in an incident that occurred in Saginaw on July 30, 2024. About 12:45 a.m., police responded to reported gunfire in the area of Jackson and South Woodbridge streets. A wounded 19-year-old man flagged down officers as they neared the scene. The man had been a passenger in a vehicle that crashed into a backyard on Woodbridge. The vehicle had been backed into the driveway of a vacant house when someone approached it and opened fire, police have said. The shooter continued firing as the vehicle careened into the backyard across the street. At least one bullet struck an occupied house, though no one inside was wounded. The vehicle’s 18-year-old driver was still behind the wheel and unconscious, requiring medical responders to remove him, police have said. The driver suffered a gunshot wound to his head and his passenger was shot at least five times, police have said. According to an affidavit authored by an FBI special agent, police recovered 27 spent casings from the scene. Both victims were taken to a hospital as Michigan State Police troopers processed the scene. Interviewed by police, the 19-year-old victim said he was supposed to meet up with Ramirez at a house in the 600 block of South Woodbridge, where Ramirez was supposed to give him a gun, the affidavit states. The victim said he was not buying the gun but merely “holding on to it” while visiting from Texas, the affidavit states. The two teens arrived at the meeting spot, but Ramirez was not present, the victim said. They left but shortly afterward Ramirez contacted them and told them to return. They did as instructed, only to be met by a barrage of gunfire, the affidavit states. The MSP Emergency Services Team executed a search warrant on Ramirez’s residence on July 31, 2024, and arrested him. Police took Ramirez to headquarters, where he waived his Miranda rights and agreed to answer questions, the affidavit states. He told them they would find ammunition at his home, as he enjoys shooting at a range. Surveillance camera footage and cellphone technology placed Ramirez at the shooting scene, with the suspect also making admissions to being involved in the incident, prosecutors allege. At the time of the shooting, Ramirez was on probation through the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act in both Saginaw and Washtenaw counties. In the latter jurisdiction, Ramirez was convicted in 2022 of carrying a concealed weapon. Ramirez acknowledged police found his Palmetto State Armory PA-15 rifle when they served a search warrant on his mother’s home on July 31. The rifle had been outfitted with a drop-in auto sear, converting it from semiautomatic to fully automatic. Ramirez told investigators he had manipulated the gun to make it fire in such a manner, according to an affidavit in court records. Ramirez further acknowledged police seized an automatic pistol with a missing serial number, eight silencers, and various rounds of ammunition when they searched his father’s house on Aug. 22, 2024. Judge Borrello is to sentence Ramirez on Jan. 7.
