Honduras resident guilty of mall mugging
Sentenced to 18 months, will be deported
By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Staff Writer
Published 03/25/09

An undocumented immigrant has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for mugging a woman the day before Thanksgiving outside Arundel Mills mall.

Upon his release, Raul Ramos-Guido, 23, a Honduras national living in Lanham, will be deported, defense attorneys said.

According to court documents, Ramos-Guido grabbed a woman's Louis Vuitton purse at about 7:10 p.m. Nov. 26 outside Neiman Marcus Last Call. He knocked the woman to the ground and started to walk off with the $1,200 purse and about $1,500 in cash she was carrying inside.

The woman, whom prosecutors asked not be named, followed Ramos-Guido and pleaded with him to give back her purse. He then turned around near Bass Pro Shops, pointed to his waistband as if he had a gun, and said, "You don't want to come near me."

About that time, a silver car pulled up, Ramos-Guido got inside, and the car drove away.

"It was very scary for her," said Assistant State's Attorney Crighton Chase.

The victim saw the license plate number and gave it to police, who tracked the vehicle to Lanham. There they found a woman who said Ramos-Guido and another man had borrowed the car Nov. 26 and had returned with a red purse.

Ramos-Guido, the father of two children, ages 2 and 5, was arrested Dec. 10 and charged with robbery, second-degree assault and three counts of felony theft.

He pleaded guilty last week to one count of robbery as part of a plea agreement with the state. In exchange, prosecutors dropped all other charges and agreed to seek a sentence of no more than 18 months behind bars.

Circuit Court Judge William C. Mulford II Friday sentenced Ramos-Guido to five years in prison, but suspended all but 18 months. Upon his release, Ramos-Guido will be on probation for two years.

Defense attorneys asked for no probation to ease their client's deportation. Mulford said he would nix the probation only after the defense attorneys prove federal authorities are ready to deport him.


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