Medford, Ore. — Ronn Graham is still dealing with physical and psychological trauma from a night in late June after he was brutally attacked by two men in Union Park.
“I had massive bruising and contusions and all of that from my head all the way down my back and across my ribs,” Graham said.
He went to the community garden to check on his plants after work around 11:00 p.m. on June 28th. He was approached by Eric Ivan Ramirez and Eddie Ramirez. He knew right away it was trouble.
“Basically what Eric did was nodded to Eddie like get him go ahead. That’s when they started coming down on me,” he said.
Police arrested both men weeks later. Knowing they were in jail gave Graham the chance to breathe easy again. But he said that relief didn’t last long. While biking home in the dark last week Graham ran into Eric Ramirez on the street. They locked eyes as Graham sped away in fear.
Graham said he filled out a victims notification certificate, meaning he was to be notified before any and all court events. He planned to address his attacker, Eric Ramirez, at his sentencing in late September. Now he’ll never get that chance.
District Attorney Beth Heckert said last week Ramirez agreed to a plea deal. He was sentenced to three years probation, and fined $200.
“It was basically a clerical error on our staff’s part,” D.A. Heckert said. “There are going to sometimes be errors, and it’s unfortunate in this particular situation. It’s very important often to victims to come in to court to be able to say something to the judge and have the defendant hear what they have to say.”
Now Graham said he faces another challenge, finding closure.
“I feel like I’ve been attacked again in some sense,” he said.
Heckert reached out personally to Graham to apologize for the mistake. He’s filed a victim’s rights violation which opens up the chance for a re-sentencing where Graham could potentially speak to his attacker in court.
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