LB Man Jailed for Harassing Ex-Wife, Stealing Dog

By LONG BEACH PRESS TELEGRAM | presstelegram@dfmdev.com |PUBLISHED: March 21, 2016 at 12:30 p.m. | UPDATED: September 1, 2017 at 12:53 p.m.

A Long Beach man was sentenced to more than three years in jail after being convicted of domestic violence and violating two restraining orders – including one incident in which he entered his ex-wife’s home and stole the family’s dog, Rocky.

Long Beach Superior Court Judge Halim Dhanidina sentenced Ignacio Ramirez, 43, for the misdemeanor convictions.

City Prosecutor Doug Haubert said in a statement the outcome was “appropriate and just.

“The defendant has a history of violence against his wife and disregarding court orders issued to protect her,” Haubert said. “In this case, the only way to protect the victim and the public is to sentence the defendant to jail.”

Ramirez likely will not serve the entire sentence behind bars, the prosecutor’s office said. The judge ordered one charge to be served concurrently, so the maximum Ramirez could serve is two and a half years. Due to county early release policies, he could be released before the end of this year.

Ramirez was convicted of violating both a civil and criminal restraining order, issued in August, and also on two probation violations for earlier convictions. In one incident, he was caught on a neighbor’s security camera circling his ex-wife’s house for nearly two hours while she was inside, the prosecutor’s office said.

In a separate incident, Ramirez drove into the alley behind his ex-wife’s house, entered the property and stole the children’s dog. The Newfoundland was eventually returned unharmed.

Jurors also heard about additional instances where Ramirez returned to the house and climbed and damaged portions of the back fence, which was erected by the victim to protect her from the defendant.

Ramirez also harassed the victim by fraudulently canceling her utilities and health insurance.

“Given the Defendant’s menacing behavior toward his own family and his repeated failure to obey court orders, jail is the right outcome for this abuser,” Deputy City Prosecutor Pooja Kumar said in a statement.