Fatal "Bullet Out of Nowhere" solved.

[hog45]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.91fcc38a7852

Lawrence Ramdass was snug in his happy place, tossing a fishing net into the muddy water and surrounded by family, when bullets started ripping his way.

The 46-year-old South Floridian was in a boat with his uncle and a friend, drifting down a sawgrass-fringed canal in the Everglades on the western edge of Palm Beach County. Ramdass loved it out there, two miles from the nearest busy road. He loved it even when the catfish weren’t biting. He just enjoyed the camaraderie.

Then, on a Wednesday afternoon last July, gunfire tore open the weekday quiet.

Fifteen or so shots arrived in less than a minute. Both his uncle and friend flopped into the water for cover, the Sun Sentinel reported. Ramdass, however, remained in the craft. A .45-caliber slug drilled into his chest. He lived long enough to motor the boat back to land, then died before paramedics arrived.

For months, law enforcement puzzled over what happened in the remote corner of the Holey Land Wildlife Management Area. Was Ramdass ambushed in an attack? But who would want kill a friendly guy devoted to his large extended family? Or was the shooting an accident? A hunter illegally roaming offseason?


Initially it wasn’t even clear where the gunfire had originated.

“Whosoever did this to my brother would have the decency to come forward and admit it because I don’t feel it was an accident,” Sandy Stallone, Ramdass’s distraught sister, told CBS Miami in July. “A stray bullet don’t just hit somebody sitting in a boat.”

No one admitted to the shooting. But after three months of digging, on Tuesday the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office announced they had solved Ramdass’s death. The answer, however, has intensified the family’s grief.

Investigators initially believed Ramdass, of Plantation, Fla., was probably accidentally shot, authorities explained to Local 10. The evidence supporting that theory was crunching beneath the shoes of anyone who walked through the area.

The Sun Sentinel reported a nearby levee is a popular illegal firing range; shooters unload their weapons into the canal bank. Spent .45 caliber and 9mm shell casings litter the ground. Bullet holes pock most of the signage.

Suspected shooters were spotted in the area the day Ramdass was killed.

On Tuesday, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office said a state wildlife officer had seen two suspicious men near the canal on the day of the shooting. He pulled their vehicle over and began questioning them about why they were there. The men said they had fireworks, but no guns. The interview, however, was cut short because the officer was called away to assist with an emergency — Ramdass’s death.

The wildlife officer recounted these details to Palm Beach County investigators. A sketch artist worked up a rendering of the men. Detectives also reportedly discovered “fresh evidence” at the scene. They were able to lift a fingerprint.

A match on the fingerprint brought investigators to Ricardo Galvan. Yes, he admitted to police, he had been shooting at targets that day, with a buddy named Christian Salcedo. The men, however, had been about a third of a mile away from where Ramdass was hit.

“Both males were cooperative and advised that they both shot multiple guns that day, handing them back and forth,” Palm Beach Sheriff spokeswoman Teri Barbera told the Sun Sentinel. “They both shot Galvan’s .45-caliber gun throughout the afternoon.”

When ballistics compared Galvan’s gun with the bullet that fatally hit Ramdass, they matched.

Investigators determined neither men could see beyond the raised bank and vegetation. They did not realize Ramdass was in the line of fire. Detectives also could not prove conclusively who fired the fatal shot. “The victim’s position was concealed from the target range,” Barbara said. “Investigators found no criminal intent and this appears to be a tragic accident.”

Investigators met with the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office and determined there was no probable cause for an arrest or criminal charges. Neither Galvan nor Salcedo immediately responded to a Facebook message for comment.

[oldengineer]

Too bad that civil laws aren't strong enough to charge those idiots with something and maybe they are and the DA is just too lazy to do it. Gross negligence comes to mind.

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

Civil Lawsuit against a person who has no assets in life is futile unless somehow the actors hit the powerball.Still responsible for the accidental shooting !

[pacodelahoya]

Two guys were shooting, which one gets punished? Both? Ok, punish them both for illegal use, reckless endangerment etc, but no way is it right for both to be punished for manslaughter or whatever lesser homicide charge.
Two guys, one fired fatal shot, one didn't.

[Mitch10mm]

Two guys were shooting, which one gets punished? Both? Ok, punish them both for illegal use, reckless endangerment etc, but no way is it right for both to be punished for manslaughter or whatever lesser homicide charge.
Two guys, one fired fatal shot, one didn't.

The answer will be both took part in the dangerous behavior. This has happened at legal private and public ranges. Maybe not this but slugs found well beyond backstops and berms.
It surprises me because many of us long for the days of a hill and some targets and ammo. You went out to the woods, family or friends land or the landfill and had a good time.


The one range I used to belong to they built houses all the way to the backstop and beyond running parallel with club property. They thought they could close the club. Didn’t happen.
Is a shooter negligent at this club if something goes astray?

I understand these guys were shooting “illegally “

[Walleye Hunter]

Two guys were shooting, which one gets punished? Both? Ok, punish them both for illegal use, reckless endangerment etc, but no way is it right for both to be punished for manslaughter or whatever lesser homicide charge.
Two guys, one fired fatal shot, one didn't.

This^^^^^^The article reads that it is, "a popular illegal firing range". The notion that it is illegal and that they were both shooting there makes for some sort of criminal charges for both of them. It would probably be impossible to determine who's shot hit the guy.

[Justin///M]

This is the kind of shooting that scares me. Just random stray bullets. Reminds me of the sad case of this guy that was roasting marshmallows when a stray bullet enter his chest from above, killing him instantly.

"He just went down. And said, ‘Ow.’ Chris said, 'Are you OK?' He said, ‘No.’ And that was it,” Carlie said.

Sheriff’s deputies say the machinist was hit by what appears to be a stray bullet as he sat around a campfire with his son-in-law, Chris, getting ready to roast marshmallows with his three grandchildren who were away with their mom at the time."

http://kdvr.com/2015/07/06/family-wa...r-at-campsite/


But any freak accident can take you at any time.

[Walleye Hunter]

...But any freak accident can take you at any time.

That's the truth. I was salmon fishing last week in NY and this guy had a fish on. It broke loose and when it did his line and sinkers flew back and hit me right in the throat. He was most apologetic but I didn't hold it against him, it's just one of those things, he didn't do it on purpose or out of negligence, it just happened. I was just glad I didn't get it in the eye.

[hog45]

The article says they were using an "illegal firing range," but no charges are filed.

My guess is the reporter is using the wrong word.

My guess is it is not a firing range. Not a club, not a business, not anything. Just a spot that lots of people go to shoot. It isn't a legally recognized firing range, but it isn't posted as illegal either. If it were directly illegal, then surely they would be charged with something or other.

But it is tough to prosecute anything beyond that, because there would be no way to prove beyond reasonable doubt who fired the particular shot.

If there is alcohol involved they may be able to get an additional charge out of it, but it sounds to me like the cops would eagerly get these guys if they had anything to get them with.

[eyecanshoot]

This^^^^^^The article reads that it is, "a popular illegal firing range". The notion that it is illegal and that they were both shooting there makes for some sort of criminal charges for both of them. It would probably be impossible to determine who's shot hit the guy.

How do you tell the difference between a legal and illegal range? If it was popular and illegal why didn't local law enforcement shut it down?

^^^Most likely why no charges.