Trial begins in case of ex-Corbin officer, son, accused of beating man in dispute over gun

According to prosecutors, nearly three years ago, former Corbin Police Officer Tony Ramey and his son, Perry Anthony Ramey, went to a man’s home to recover a gun belonging to Tony Ramey that Perry had stolen and sold to pay a drug debt.

Tony Ramey allegedly beat a man with a different pistol in the process of assaulting and robbing him in an attempt to get the gun back.

"Tony Ramey and Perry Ramey took the law into their own hands," Special Prosecutor Jeffrey Prather told jurors in his opening statement Thursday afternoon.

Tony Anthony Ramey, 49, and his son, Perry Anthony Ramey, 32, are standing trial in Whitley Circuit Court on charges of first-degree robbery and second-degree assault. Perry Ramey is also charged with theft by deception over $300.

Defense attorneys, however, contend that the case isn’t that cut and dry.

Why would Tony Ramey have called police to report the gun stolen that morning and asked an old friend for help recovering it, if he planned to go there and commit robbery?

The nine-woman, four-man jury could begin deliberations as soon as Friday in the case, which is expected to take two days to try.

Facts not in dispute

No one disputes that Perry Ramey, the drug addicted son of former Corbin Police Officer Tony Ramey, took a gun belonging to his father and sold it for $300 to Christopher Dalton Brewer on May 28, 2007.

No one disputes that Tony Ramey called then Corbin Police Capt. Detective Tim Helton on June 13, 2007, and told him about the problem and asked him for help in getting the gun back.

No one disputes that Tony and Perry Ramey went to Brewer’s Gilliam Street residence soon after that, and that Perry went up to the door, knocked on it, and Brewer came out. Perry Ramey then told him that he needed to get the gun back, and that it hadn’t belonged to him.

Opening statements

Prather told the jury in his opening statement that Brewer took the gun to the Corbin Police Department and had the serial number run to ensure that it wasn’t stolen before he bought it from Perry Ramey.

His girlfriend, Rachel Pool, even drew up a bill of sale that Perry Ramey, Brewer and a witness signed.

Brewer was surprised to see Perry Ramey at the door that morning asking for the gun back, Prather told jurors.

"Dalton said, ‘I’ll give you back the gun. You give me back $300," Prather said in his opening statement.

Brewer then tried to go back into the home, and Perry Ramey blocked his path, and wrestled him to the ground. Tony Ramey ran up holding a gun, Prather told jurors.

"Dalton fought back against Perry and seemed to be winning," Prather told jurors and then Tony Ramey started hitting him repeatedly.

Pool called 911 asking for the police after hearing Tony Ramey both threatening to kill Brewer and threatening to arrest him, Prather said in his opening statement.

In his opening statement, Tony Ramey’s attorney, Eric Ashley, pointed out that the alleged victim has a financial interest in the outcome of this case since he has a lawsuit filed in connection with it in federal court.

"You are going to be asked to believe things in this case that are unbelievable," he told jurors. "If my client truly went to the house to rob him, why would he call the police department first?"

Perry Ramey’s defense attorney, public defender Ron Findell, told jurors that in the end, they would have to decide whose version of events was more believable under the circumstances.

He said that all sides agree that Perry Ramey took his father’s gun, and that the father and son went over to Brewer’s house to ask for it back on June 13, 2007. Perry Ramey went to the door, knocked, and asked for the gun back.

"You will have to from that point decide whose testimony is more credible," he told jurors.

Testimony begins

Prosecutors called only two witnesses Thursday afternoon, Helton, the retired detective who investigated the case, and Sgt. Glen Taylor, who was the first officer to arrive at the scene.

Helton testified that Tony Ramey, who was a former co-worker, friend and martial arts instructor of his, called him the morning of June 13, 2007, with a problem.

Tony Ramey told him that his son, Perry, had stole one of his pistols and sold it to Brewer.

Helton told him to come down to the police department and he would see what he could do to help him get it back.
Tony Ramey told Helton that he would be down there in a little bit.

Helton said that the next thing he heard was a call for him to go to Brewer’s residence on Gilliam Street to investigate an incident.

Helton said he received permission from Pool to search her and Brewer’s residence.

Helton said that he recovered the disputed firearm between the couch and couch cushions.

It was registered to Tony Ramey, and had not been entered as stolen in law enforcement databases.

Both Perry Ramey and Tony Ramey voluntarily gave statements to police, Helton testified.

Tony Ramey didn’t deny hitting Brewer or cutting his forehead. He didn’t deny going there to ask for the gun back.

Perry Ramey admitted taking the gun from his father, and selling it to Brewer to pay off a drug debt, Helton testified.

Perry Ramey told Helton that he first bought pills off of one man, and then later from Brewer.

"During this time period, Perry Ramey had a drug problem that was fairly common knowledge," Helton testified.

In a separate unconnected case, Brewer is facing charges of trafficking in a prescription blank, criminal possession of a prescription blank, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and criminal complicity to traffic in a controlled substance in Whitley Circuit Court.

According to the Nov. 13, 2007 indictment, Dalton Brewer allegedly had six prescription blanks from a local doctor’s office.
Brewer allegedly sold prescription blanks to a police confidential informant, which led police to get a search warrant that turned up more blank prescription forms, a prosecutor said in 2007.

Acting as an officer?

It’s unclear exactly what defense attorneys plan to argue.

Based on testimony and statements in court Thursday, they could be planning to contend that Tony Ramey was acting as a Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy that day and he was using force to arrest Brewer during the incident.

Taylor testified that when he arrived, Tony Ramey and his son, Perry, were leading a gentleman from the house towards his cruiser.

Taylor said that he could hear Tony Ramey arguing with a woman.

"What I heard him tell the female was that the male subject was under arrest," Taylor testified.

Helton testified that Tony Ramey had a sheriff’s badge, and a sheriff’s department identification card in his wallet that day.
Helton also seized an oath of office from where Tony Ramey’s residence indicating that he was sworn in as a deputy sheriff on Aug. 2, 2006, by District Judge Cathy Prewitt.

Police didn’t arrest Tony Ramey at the scene.

He drove to the police department in his own vehicle the day the incident happened. He still had the gun that he carried to Brewer’s home that day in his possession. He isn’t being tried for impersonating an officer and worked a couple of years for former Sheriff Ancil Carter.

Helton testified that Ramey let police into his vehicle where he had the pistol used to hit Brewer stored inside the glove compartment. It was a different gun than what Ramey was trying to recover that day.

Helton testified under cross examination that sometimes while making an arrest, both the person being arrested and the officer get injured.

Whitley County Sheriff Lawrence Hodge disputes that Ramey was an auxiliary deputy for his department.

Brewer has filed a separate civil lawsuit in federal court against Tony Ramey and the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department alleging that Tony Ramey was a card carrying sheriff’s deputy at the time of the assault and that Tony Ramey was trying to arrest him when the beating took place.

Bond request

After jurors left court for the day, Findell asked Special Judge Ron Johnson to release his client on a surety bond.

Perry Ramey told the judge that an old non-payment of fines charge had been resolved and this was the only charge that he was being held in the Whitley County Detention Center for.

Findell noted that when a fellow inmate in Perry Ramey’s cell was dieing in November, his client performed CPR on the man.

Findell said that in the event his client is convicted and sent off to prison, he would like to spend some time with his mother, who is close to being terminally ill.

Tony Ramey told the judge that his wife, and Perry’s mother, probably had only eight to 12 months to live.

Prather objected noting that he was a little concerned about releasing Perry Ramey on bond at this point. Tony Ramey is currently free on bond.

Johnson denied the request, but noted that he might reconsider it Friday if the case hasn’t concluded by the end of the day.