Verdict for South City cop attack

Because he was found not guilty of the attempted murder charge, the South San Francisco man no longer faces a life prison sentence and instead could be sentenced to 20 years in state prison for his convictions, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Though Ramos-Coreas entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in March, because he no longer faces a life prison term, he and his defense attorney may consider withdrawing that plea, said Wagstaffe. He said Ramos-Coreas could be sentenced to life in a state hospital if jurors find he was insane at the time of the crime.

Should they choose to maintain Ramos-Coreas’ plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, jurors will return Tuesday to enter a second phase of the trial, in which they will decide whether he was sane at the time of the crime, said Wagstaffe. Insanity is a person’s mental state at the time of a crime while competency is a defendant’s ability to aid in their own defense.

The competency of Ramos-Coreas to stand trial has already been called into question, but doctors who previously evaluated him determined he was competent to stand trial, according to prosecutors.

At around 2:20 p.m. Nov. 24, 2016, Ramos-Coreas is believed to have hit Chon in the head with his skateboard after Chon responded to a report of a man acting irate toward patrons at a business on the 300 block of Grand Avenue, according to prosecutors and police previously.

When officers arrived on the scene, they tried to approach Ramos-Coreas, who was allegedly causing the disturbance, police said previously.

Ramos-Coreas is said to have refused to comply with the officers’ requests. When additional officers arrived, Ramos-Coreas allegedly fled on a skateboard and Chon began chasing him, according to prosecutors.

During the chase, Ramos-Coreas allegedly stopped, turned and struck Chon in the head with the skateboard. He allegedly started running again but officers were able to capture him, according to prosecutors.

Chon lost consciousness in the attack, suffered a skull fracture and required brain surgery to stop some bleeding, according to prosecutors.

After undergoing multiple surgeries and spending hours in rehabilitation, Chon returned to light duty in January, more than a year after the attack, according to the department.

Chon allegedly testified as a witness Tuesday, noting he could only recall initial contact with Ramos-Coreas and his next memory was waking up in a hospital. He allegedly described how the attack altered his life physically and emotionally, according to Wagstaffe. He added Ramos-Coreas also testified, claiming he was manic during the incident because he was off his medication and didn’t intend to hurt or kill anybody.

Though Wagstaffe acknowledged prosecutors would have liked to have seen Ramos-Coreas found guilty of the attempted murder charge, he was pleased with the jury’s verdict Friday and expressed gratitude Chon is back at work and able to live with his family after suffering life-threatening injuries.

“The jury’s decision-making was very reasonable under all circumstances,” he said.

Ramos-Correas remains in custody on $2 million bail, according to prosecutors.

His defense attorney James Riley declined to comment until his client’s case is closed.

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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