Death penalty sought against suspect in Sacramento Officer Tara O’Sullivan slaying

Prosecutors announced Thursday that they intend to seek the death penalty for Adel Sambrano Ramos, the man accused of ambushing and killing Sacramento police Officer Tara O’Sullivan last June in a north Sacramento neighborhood.

The announcement came in a hearing in Sacramento Superior Court Thursday afternoon where Deputy District Attorney Jeff Hightower revealed prosecutors had tacked on numerous additional counts charging Ramos with the attempted murder of seven other law enforcement officers and weapons violations.

Ramos, 46, now faces a total of 13 felony counts as well as special circumstances making him eligible for the death penalty. Hightower filed a one-sentence notice with the court Thursday that prosecutors will seek that punishment despite California’s moratorium on executions.

“The People of the State of California, by and through Anne Marie Schubert, District Attorney of Sacramento County, notified the defendant Adel Ramos, his counsel, and this court that, in the event the defendant is convicted of the charged crimes and enhancements, the People intend to seek a sentence of death,” the filing states.

New filing adds seven counts of attempted murder of officers

Ramos originally was charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder and two counts of possession of an assault weapon.

The new filing charges Ramos with murder in the shooting death of O’Sullivan on June 19 and adds special circumstances alleging that she was killed while engaged in her duties as an officer and that he was lying in wait when he allegedly gunned down the 26-year-old rookie.

The amended felony complaint also charges Ramos with the attempted murders of Sacramento police Officers Daniel Chipp, David Jarrell, Anthony Boler, Tyler Curtis and Jeff Morris and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputies Paul Flick and Steven Murphy.

He also faces charges of illegal manufacture of two AR-15 style rifles and of converting three other AR-15 style semi-automatic rifles into machine guns.

Schubert’s office is ignoring Gov. Gavin Newsom’s death penalty moratorium, which will remain in place as long as he is governor. In addition to Ramos, she filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Joseph James DeAngelo, the former Auburn police officer accused of 13 slayings in the Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist case.

The hearing lasted only a few moments, and Ramos, standing in a jail cell inside the courtroom and guarded by two deputies, showed no reaction as the plan to seek the death penalty was announced.

Sacramento police Chief Daniel Hahn and other department officials were in the audience, and dozens of uniformed officers – some from nearby jurisdictions such as Davis and Rocklin – assembled outside the Main Jail building housing the courtroom to honor O’Sullivan.

Her parents, Denis and Kelley O’Sullivan, climbed up on a concrete wall afterward to thank officers for their show of support, but declined further comment.

Shooting began as call for domestic disturbance

O’Sullivan was killed in an event that began on Redwood Avenue as a call for officers to help a woman remove her belongings from Ramos’ home at 11:43 a.m.

O’Sullivan, who had graduated from the police academy in December 2018, was at the scene when gunfire erupted at 6:10 p.m. and she was struck by rifle fire.

The shooting set off an eight-hour siege of the home, where authorities say Ramos had barricaded himself with high-powered rifles. He eventually surrendered to police just before 2 a.m.

Ramos, a Sacramento carpenter, has a lengthy history of violence against women and once threatened to “blow up my family with a bomb,” court records show.

He has been held in the Sacramento County Mail Jail without bail since his arrest.

O’Sullivan was the first Sacramento police officer killed in the line of duty since the death of William Bean Jr., who was fatally shot responding to a traffic stop in February 1999.

She is one of three Sacramento-area officers killed last year. Davis police Officer Natalie Corona, 22, was shot to death Jan. 10 while investigating a traffic accident. El Dorado sheriff’s Deputy Brian Ishmael was shot to death Oct. 23 responding to a report of people stealing marijuana from a grow site.

This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 1:33 PM.