Former police officer withdraws plea in sex case

      A former Las Vegas police officer withdrew his guilty plea Friday to oppression under the color of office and will now stand trial on charges he forced a couple to perform a sex act while he watched.
      Michael Ramirez, 28, had entered a plea agreement only to avoid the possibility of a life sentence if convicted of sexual assault, according to his attorney, Frank Cremen.
     

Former Las Vegas police officer Michael Ramirez appears in District Court Friday. Ramirez will stand trial March 9. Photo by Gary Thompson.

He should be let out of the deal now because new information has surfaced about the man involved in the incident, evidence that backs up Ramirez's contention that "he never forced anyone to do anything on the night in question," Cremen said.
      Prosecutors argued Ramirez should have to stick to the plea agreement because he entered into it knowingly and voluntarily, then got scared.
      "I think he got cold feet when he saw what other former police officers got and now he wants out," said Deputy District Attorney Vicki Monroe, referring to recent unrelated criminal cases that led to the imprisonment of former Las Vegas police officers.
      District Judge Don Chairez, who set a March 9 trial date, said that while he is allowing the plea to be withdrawn, he doesn't think it's a smart move on Ramirez's part.
      "If it were me, I would not want to go to trial," the judge told the defendant.
      Ramirez was originally charged with two counts of sexual assault, two counts of oppression under the color of office and one count of open and gross lewdness.
      Norma McKee and Michael Healy told a grand jury they were parked and looking at the night sky near Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area on Oct. 4, 1996, when Ramirez approached in plain clothes, displayed a badge and gun and asked them to get out of the car.
      When McKee, a 29-year-old stripper, emerged from the car, Ramirez shined a flashlight at her genitals, asked whether she was wearing underwear, told her to pull up her dress and fondled her thigh and vaginal area, she told the grand jury.
      Then, at Ramirez's request, Healy performed oral sex on McKee while the officer watched, according to Healy's testimony. Healy said Ramirez hinted the couple might be framed for a crime if they disobeyed.
      In August, Healy was arrested and charged with trafficking in cocaine and possession of marijuana. A preliminary hearing on the charge is set for Monday before Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis.
      Cremen said Healy's connection with drugs could explain what happened that night with Ramirez, who approached the car because the couple was in the back seat and he was concerned the woman could be a prostitute.
      Healy was carrying a lot of cash on him and no identification except a betting ticket, the lawyer said.
      Ramirez was suspicious and wanted to search the car for drugs, and Healy suggested the sex act as a way of diverting the officer's attention, according to the defense attorney.
      Monroe scoffed at that version of events, noting that Ramirez was on light duty that night, which meant he "wasn't authorized to search the car, he wasn't authorized to make an arrest."
      "He had no business being at Red Rock that night," the prosecutor said.