By Tracie Sullivan, For Iron County Today
A fight involving a knife at a rural Iron County nursery ended with one man facing an attempted murder charge after deputies said he pressed a blade to another man’s ribs during the struggle.
Juan David Ramirez, 19, was arrested Sunday after deputies responded to reports of a fight in progress at Milgro Nursery near Newcastle.
Ramirez was initially booked on a felony charge of suspicion of aggravated assault along with two misdemeanors. Prosecutors amended the top count to attempted murder the next day after reviewing additional information obtained following his arrest.
According to charging documents filed in 5th District Court in support of the arrest, deputies arrived just after 11 a.m. to find witnesses describing a confrontation that began inside the nursery’s break room.
One witness told police Ramirez entered the room and chased another man outside before the fight moved to the ground. The victim reported feeling the knife pressed against his rib during the struggle, though he was not cut or stabbed.
A second witness, who intervened, told deputies Ramirez ran when he saw law enforcement arriving.
When deputies found Ramirez, he reportedly became agitated and told officers the other man “was lucky” they arrived when they did because he would have killed him, according to the affidavit.
During a search, deputies said they found a small bag of methamphetamine in Ramirez’s pocket. He allegedly told officers the substance was “crystal.”
Ramirez also told officers he was part of the 18th Street gang and said he works at the same job as people he believed were members of MS-13.
Ramirez was booked into the Iron County Jail, where he remained as of Tuesday. The case is still under investigation.