Victor Aureliano Martinez Ramirez, an illegal alien who allegedly broke into 64-year-old Marilyn Pharis’s home, raped her and savagely beat her with a hammer, had been arrested four times by Santa Maria police in California — and was on probation at the time of his arrest.
Police say Ramirez broke into Pharis’s home on July 24, raped her and beat her with a claw hammer, leaving her for dead before trying to break into another home.
Ramirez pled not guilty on Friday to charges of “attempted murder, first-degree burglary with person present, assault with intent to commit rape, sexual penetration by foreign object and resisting a peace officer,” according to HNGN. He also faces special allegations: “the use of a deadly weapon in a sex offense, causing great bodily injury in a sex offense, assault with a deadly weapon on an elderly person and a violent crime against a vulnerable victim,” according to the Santa Maria Times.
Pharis died eight days later. Ramirez may face additional charges for murder after an autopsy is conducted.
Police say they “don’t care” that Ramirez is an illegal alien, who rather than being detained and deported, was free to rampage through the neighborhood.
“We have a citizen that lost her life, it’s serious, when you look at it, we don’t care what the circumstances were, we’re going to do what we need to do to get our facts and bring this individual to justice. If there are extenuating circumstances that arise as a result of that, that he’s an undocumented immigrant, then we will let the proper authorities address those issues when they present themselves,” Santa Maria Police Department Commander Kendall Greene said.
Had he been deported, of course, Pharis would still be alive. Santa Maria police arrested Ramirez four times in the past two years, most recently in May 2014. He was on probation when he allegedly raped and beat Pharis in the dead of night.
Email Katie at kmchugh@breitbart.com. Follow her on Twitter: @k_mcq.