Klein accepts deal from DA's Office
by Christine Bensen-Messinger, 12/7/2006
A man who was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at Reggae on the River accepted a deal from the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office earlier this week and pleaded guilty to sexual battery.
Ramon Roberto Klein, 28, of Daly City, was charged with assault with intent to commit mayhem or sex crimes, unlawful sexual penetration and unlawful possession of a specified controlled substance.
Klein also had two enhancements to his charges that he has a prior strike for being convicted of making criminal threats in 2001 and serving a prior prison term.
Jury selection for his trial was scheduled to start Monday.
He was arrested on the morning of Aug. 5 after a woman reported to on-site Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies that he had assaulted her during the night.
“She had a problem with her wristband (Friday night); they weren’t letting her enter and she got separated from her friends,” Humboldt County Sheriff’s Deputy Travis Braud, who was on duty the morning of Aug. 5, testified during Klein’s preliminary hearing in late August.
He said the victim, who has been referred to only as Jane Doe because of the nature of the crimes allegedly committed against her, told him she was looking for a place to sleep by the river when she met Klein and some of his friends for the first time.
“He said she could stay at his camp if she had nowhere else to stay,” Braud said, adding that Doe told him Klein was drinking and that she had a few beers as well.
Between 3 and 4 a.m., Doe told Braud she woke up because Klein was on top of her, pinning her down with his legs.
Braud said Doe told him while assaulting her, Klein told her he had allowed her to stay in his tent so she would have sex with him.
“(He said,) ‘You can’t stay here for free,’” Braud said.
Klein then allegedly continued to try and assault her until she was able to get out of his tent.
Once she was out of the tent, Doe told Braud that Klein followed her out and assaulted her again.
“He punched her in the left side of her face twice and then slapped her,” Braud said. “She was crying at that point.”
When she contacted deputies, Braud said, he observed dried blood on Doe’s nose, left arm and sweatshirt.
He said she also identified Klein as her attacker.
“The victim said she was sure it was him,” Braud said.
Following his arrest, Klein was booked into the Humboldt County jail, where Correctional Officer James Hinrichs, who was checking him in, allegedly found a packet of what appeared to be drugs in the pocket of his shorts.
After testing it, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Detective Marvin Kirkpatrick testified that the substance, which weighed approximately 1.8 grams, tested positive for cocaine.
Klein is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. Per the agreement, Klein will be sentenced to four years in state prison and will have to register as a sex offender.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
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