Hammond man found guilty of murder in stabbing at bar

• Reprints

Updated: March 2, 2012 8:18AM

Lake Superior Court jurors convicted a Merrillville man of murder at a Hammond bar and could decide Wednesday if he faces double the penalty because of his alleged criminal gang affiliation.

Jurors deliberated less than two hours before convicting Ernesto Roberto Ramirez, 31, of murder and criminal gang activity in the stabbing death of Victor Adams, 34, of West Lafayette. Jurors are expected to return Wednesday for the criminal gang sentencing enhancement phase of the trial before Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. The enhancement means Ramirez faces 90 to 130 years in prison.

In closing arguments, deputy prosecutor Michelle Jatkiewicz said surveillance footage shows Ramirez intentionally stabbed Victor Adams in the neck after Adams disrespected Ramirez’s gang and got the best of him in a fight early on Jan. 13, 2011, at the Copper Penny Bar in Hammond

In his closing argument, defense attorney John Cantrell said Ramirez was defending himself from an attack by Adams and his friends. “He did what he had to do – it’s kill or be killed,” Cantrell said.

Adams, 35, of West Lafayette, had returned to Northwest Indiana for a funeral of a family member. His friends drove him to the Hammond Clinic, which was closed at the time. The single stab wound hit a vital artery in Adams’ neck and he bled to death.

Jatkiewicz said Ramirez had been in a verbal dispute with Adams’ friends before he and two other friends arrived. An independent witness in the eight-day trial, Leonard Wilson, testified he saw Ramirez get something black from a cup-holder in his car and appeared to be upset as Ramirez walked back into the bar. When Wilson inquired as to whether there would be trouble inside, Ramirez said Wilson would be OK as long as he wasn’t “a king,” referring to a rival gang.

Jatkiewicz argued that evidence in the trial showed that Ramirez struck Adams first. Cantrell argued that Ramirez had been grabbed by his hooded sweatshirt and was unable to breathe before he was punched and struck with beer bottles. Adams had grabbed a pool stick from his friend’s hand, Cantrell said, and his client, who had already pulled out his knife, acted to defend himself.

Jatkiewicz told the nine-man, three-woman jury that Ramirez waited until Adams had turned his back when he walked up behind him, grabbed him by the shoulder to steady himself and plunged the folding knife into Adams’ neck.

“My client only stabbed once,” Cantrell countered.

Jurors also heard evidence of Ramirez’s alleged gang involvement.

That alleged involvement included a colored-in teardrop tattoo. In phone calls recorded in the Lake County Jail, Ramirez said he’s in charge of his associates and that a tattoo represents the Detroit Tigers and not a gang. Jatkiewicz also introduced a photo of Ramirez on his cell phone with the words “Boss Dogg” in a bubble underneath.

Ramirez went on the run after the homicide and was captured by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force and Hammond police in Joliet, Ill. Hammond police Detective Sgt. David Carter was the lead investigator in the case.