Wanted suspect arrested locally

NEWS Staff Report

Cameron County Sheriff’s Deputies apprehended a man outside an El Ranchito mechanic’s shop after the suspect’s niece said he assaulted her disabled father.

According to the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), on Thursday, April 18, 2024, Cameron County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a possible assault in the San Benito area.

According to a CCSO report, sheriff’s deputies made contact with a female complainant who informed them that her father, who is disabled, was allegedly assaulted by her uncle, identified as Rolando Ramirez Jimenez.
According to the CCSO, the complainant informed deputies that her uncle had left the location after allegedly committing the assault.

Cameron County Sheriff’s Deputies then made contact with the victim who reportedly had bruising, and swelling to his left eye and was bleeding from his nose.

According to the CCSO report, deputies took several witness statement regarding the alleged incident. Based on the forgoing facts and corroborating statement gathered from witnesses, a warrant of arrest was issued for Ramirez Jimenez for Injury to a disabled person, a third degree felony.

On Monday April 29, 2024, Cameron County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigators, with assistance of the Cameron County Sheriff’s Special Investigation Unit investigators, located the suspect at a mechanic shop in El Ranchito, just outside San Benito.

Ramirez Jimenez was transported to the Cameron County Carrizales Rucker Detention Center in Olmito, where the suspect was booked for the warrant listed above.

CCSO officials note that all subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

According to the US Department of Justice, individuals with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to crime for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to, reliance on caregivers, limited transportation options, limited access to Sign Language interpreters and assistive devices, and isolation from the community.

While people with disabilities experience the same types of crime as people without disabilities, they may also experience unique forms of these crimes, according to the DOJ. For example, intimate partner violence victims with disabilities may be subject to denial of care or assistance, destruction of medical equipment, destruction of equipment for communication purposes, or manipulation of medications, in addition to more common controlling and abusive behaviors.

These vulnerabilities not only increase opportunities for abuse and neglect, but they also make reporting victimization more difficult for victims.

According to the DOJ, from 2009-2015, individuals with disabilities are at least twice as likely to be victims of violent victimization compared to individuals without disabilities. In 2015, for example, nearly 30 of every 1,000 disabled individuals in America age 12 and older reported violent victimization, compared to 12 of every 1,000 12 years or older without a disability.

The National Crime Victimization Survey first included questions about disability victimization in 2007.

Between 2011 and 2015, 20% of crime victims with disabilities believed they were targeted because of their disability. Furthermore, studies show that people with a single disability were less likely to report their victimization to the police compared to people with multiple disabilities.