Updated at 5:45 p.m., Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Maui man pleads no contest in beating of toddler
Advertiser Staff
WAILUKU, Maui — Francisco Ramirez, who admitted to police that he struck his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter because she gave him a "disrespectful" look, pleaded no contest today to attempted manslaughter.Ramirez, 26, originally was charged with second-degree attempted murder after Shari Rodrigues was found unconscious March 15, 2006, at the Na Hale O Waine'e homeless resource center in Lahaina. The child suffered a skull fracture, a broken breastbone and ribs, and severe internal injuries. She has
since been adopted by her grandmother, according to Deputy Prosecutor Davelynn Tengan.
The girl's mother also was arrested but never charged.
The attempted-manslaughter charge carries a 20-year prison sentence, and Tengan said two previous burglary convictions means Ramirez will spend a mandatory minimum of 13 years and four months behind bars before he is eligible for parole.
He will be sentenced Oct. 3 by Maui Circuit Judge Joel August.
Tengan said one reason prosecutors agreed to plead to a reduced charge is because an attempted-murder charge requires convincing proof that the defendant intended to kill the victim.
