E-911 call chilling reminder of murder

There is nothing as chilling as listening to the playback of an E-911 call — especially when you already know that the outcome is going to be the murder of one victim and the attempted murder of another.

Listening to the tape of Wednesday night’s attack on a recovery agent and his partner through the trembling and sobbing voice of the shooter’s wife is one of the most gut-wrenching five minutes and 58 seconds that I’ve lately had to endure.

From the moment the operator answered the call with the familiar “9-1-1, are you reporting an emergency?” until the moment that the wife of Jesse Elorde Ramirez told the operator “They’re handcuffing him” five minutes and 40 seconds later, you can hear the terror and helplessness in her voice.

By some fortunate circumstance for her, despite the fact that she told operators that she is disabled, Ramirez’ wife was able to escape her house and call emergency dispatchers from the sidewalk outside. She said that her husband had not injured her.

After being told “Someone’s been shot”, E-911 operators ask, “Where?” The recorded response comes back, “In my yard.”

In what seems like an eternity of attempts to calm the caller down and establish exactly what is going on at the crime scene on SR-16; one minute and 10 seconds into the call, the dispatcher asks the pregnant question, “Is the suspect that did it still there?”

“Yes” was the reply. “OK, who is he and does he still have the gun?” asked the operator.

“He’s my husband” the woman sobbed. Still trying to pull together the pieces, the dispatcher asks, “Does he still have the gun?” Again, the reply was “Yes”.

“OK, where is that gun, mam?” Between tears, in a trembling voice, she answers, “I don’t know, it’s in the house, I’m afraid to go in there.”

According to the statements made in the telephone call, Jesse Elorde Ramirez was sitting on his porch as 48 year-old Wilfred Rivera lay dead, or dying, in the caller’s driveway — 31 year-old Delbert Charles Power, Jr., clinging to life, on his stomach, in the median next to the tow truck the two men had occupied only minutes earlier.

Two minutes and 19 seconds into the call, an operator asks the wife if she is sure that the victim was still breathing. She replied, “I’m not by him, I’m on the sidewalk. I’m afraid my husband is going to shoot me.”

When the dispatcher asks, “Why do you think he’s going to shoot you?” The answer reminds me how un-explainable and senseless this tragic turn of events has evolved, “Because he’s just so mad.” Concerned, the dispatcher asks, “OK, is he going to fire at one of my deputies?” As she hesitated, as if in fear of what may happen next, she answered, “I don’t think he would be … I don’t … I don’t know.”

Over the tears, you can hear the yelp of a siren coming to the aid of a fellow officer who arrived on the scene within the first minute after the call came in. The communications center tries to keep the caller calm, reassuring her that the sound of the siren means backup is almost there.

Trying to get to what caused Wednesday night’s double shooting, Ramirez’ wife is asked “Why did he shoot him?” The wife responded, one minute and 33 seconds into the call, “Because he took our truck.” Dispatchers asked again, two minutes and 52 seconds into the call. This time, they are told, “They pulled off with our truck. And, he shot the guy that was in the truck, too.”

On last report, today, Power is in fair condition after being airlifted to Shands Hospital Jacksonville. Historic City News is awaiting results of the autopsy and medical examiner’s report regarding Wilfred Rivera.

After his first appearance before a judge yesterday morning, Jesse Elorde Ramirez was denied bail on the capital murder charge and first degree felony charges of attempted murder.