A 39-year-old homeless man who stabbed two Little Rock men, killing one of them, accepted a 25-year sentence for first-degree murder and second-degree battery.
Sentencing papers filed on Tuesday show Humberto Arolodo Machic-Ramos pleaded guilty as charged in exchange for the prison sentence imposed by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Barry Sims, as part of a plea agreement negotiated by deputy prosecutor Scott Duncan and public defender Leslie Borgognoni.
Machic-Ramos has been jailed ever since his arrest the day after the June 2018 attack on Evidencio Ramon Ordonez, 33, and 52-year-old Jose Ibarra at the mobile home park at 8724 Stanton Road in Little Rock. Police called to the scene found both men suffering chest wounds, with Ordonez dying in the hospital about three hours later.
Ibarra told police he had been attacked out of the blue by his knife-wielding former roommate, whom he knew as "Chimala," court filings show. Ibarra said Chimala told him, "someone is going to die tonight," while slashing at him with a "long kitchen knife." Ibarra said he was able to deflect several thrusts but was ultimately stabbed in the right side of his chest.
Witness Vicente Herrera, 64, told investigators he was with Ibarra when "Chimala" surprised them, swinging a knife at Ibarra and saying, "If I do not die, someone will." Herrera said he was able to get a pole and chase the attacker away before calling police. Ibarra was able to identify his attacker as "Carlos Umberto Ramos," which turned out to be the alias of Machic-Ramos. Police were able to immediately obtain an arrest warrant and began searching for Machic-Ramos.
The day after the slaying, police were called to the home of Jesus Antonio Gonzalez Cazarez, who said Machic-Ramos had just left his house after asking him for money to go to Guatemala, court filings show.
Cazarez said he'd heard that Machic-Ramos was involved in a homicide and that when he asked Machic-Ramos if he'd killed somebody, Machic-Ramos said he had, cutting someone in the stomach. Officers searched the neighborhood and arrested Machic-Ramos nearby.
In an interview with police, Machic-Ramos first denied having any contact with Ibarra, then said he was walking by Ibarra's home and saw him with a second man but denied any altercation between them. He later stated he did get into a fight with Ibarra but said he was holding a pen and might have scratched Ibarra.
Machic-Ramos also told police that, while he was on Stanton Road, he had stopped to drink with Ordonez and two men he did not know. Machic-Ramos said Ordonez tended to get violent while drinking and threw a chair at him, hitting him in the back, court filings show.
Machic-Ramos said he'd grabbed something, a log or a club, and hit Ordonez back, stating that Ordonez pulled out a knife but that he'd pushed the knife into Ordonez' chest.