Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

A member of the same gang as Jamal Dean, who made false statements while testifying as a witness at Dean’s sentencing, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison yesterday.

Cesar Ramos, age 27, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term July 20, 2016, after a jury found him guilty on April 12, 2016, of three counts of making false material declarations.

The evidence at trial revealed the following facts. Ramos and Dean were in the same gang and Jaime Espinoza was in another gang. After Dean shot Espinoza, Ramos – according to statements he gave to investigators – drove Dean away from the scene of the shooting. When he was asked about these observations at Dean’s sentencing he feigned a memory lapse repeatedly answering: “I don’t remember.” The jury found these answers were made under oath, were false, that Ramos knew they were false, and they were material to the district court’s sentencing inquiry; and, therefore, constituted perjury.

Ramos was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Ramos was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $300 was imposed. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes. The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and the United States Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 15-4058.

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