Joshua Ryan Ramirez, 25, of Plymouth, was sentenced on July 8 in Marshall Superior Court No. 1 to 10 years imprisonment for conspiracy to deal in methamphetamine as a Class B Felony. Judge Robert O. Bowen approved an agreement reached between Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tami Napier and defense attorney Tom Black of Plymouth.
In open court, Ramirez admitted that on May 14, 2014, he agreed with Tori Drubert to manufacture methamphetamine and then purchased pseudoephedrine, a necessary ingredient to manufacture methamphetamine. Additionally, Ramirez did manufacture 6.9 grams of methamphetamine. In exchange for a guilty plea, the State dismissed the remaining charges. Tori Drubert is set to be sentenced on July 16.
The case began on May 14, 2014 when Patrolman Richard Prater of the Marshall County Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle with only one illuminated headlight. Joshua Ramirez was driving the vehicle, and Tori Drubert was in the passenger seat. Upon running Ramirez’s drivers license information, Officer Prater discovered that Ramirez’s license was suspended. Ramirez was taken into custody while K9 Officer Brandon Cooper arrived and deployed his K9 Arras. Arras alerted that there was an odor of narcotics by the passenger side door of the vehicle.
With probable cause, the officers then searched the vehicle. Prater located two baggies of white powder, several white pills containing ephedrine, coffee filters with a chemical odor and white powder, lithium batteries, instant cold packs, a digital scale, and a glass pipe. Both Ramirez and Drubert were arrested at that time.
Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman noted that Ramirez’s prior record is steeped in methamphetamine production. “It was only a matter of time,” Chipman said, “that Joshua was going to catch a bigger charge and actually be caught making this poison. In 2010, Ramirez was convicted of possession of chemical reagents to cook meth; in 2011 he was convicted of possession of paraphernalia to smoke the meth; and in 2013 he was convicted of possession of the meth. Now he has graduated to actually being caught with the final cooked product.” “It’s a shame, he is only 25 years old.”
“The sentence imposed allows him to qualify for intensive treatment after serving a substantial portion of his sentence. This perhaps is his last chance to get out of the meth world. It’s all up to him now.”
