01 April 2025 :

March 27, 2025 - California. Adel Ramos sentenced to death

A Sacramento County jury unanimously sentenced Adel Ramos, 51, Hispanic, to death in the June 19, 2019 murder of police rookie Tara O’Sullivan, 26.

Ramos had pleaded guilty in August to the murder of O’Sullivan and the attempted murder of another officer. He carried out the attack from inside a Del Paso Heights home, where prosecutors said he had drilled “murder holes” to conceal his position and fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call.

Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2019 moratorium, the jury’s decision underscores the legal authority prosecutors still possess to seek death sentences. Ramos becomes 1 of more than 600 inmates currently condemned in California, even as executions remain indefinitely suspended.

During the trial’s penalty phase, jurors viewed harrowing footage capturing O’Sullivan’s final moments, including audio of her breathing and Ramos ranting from inside the house.

If the jury had again failed to reach unanimity, Judge James Arguelles would have had the authority to impose a life sentence without parole. But the panel reached consensus, ensuring the death sentence would be entered into record despite its uncertain practical outcome. California has not executed a prisoner since 2006, and the death chamber at San Quentin has been dismantled.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article302930974.html