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Ramon B. Gomez, known as BI to prostitutes who worked for him, sent a text to a 17-year-old Griswold girl on May 27 saying he would take care of her "from now on," according to a court document.

"If you listen to me, you'll always have money and be good I promise," the text message said.

"OK, and thank you baby," the teen responded.

Less than 48 hours later, at 2:30 a.m. May 29, the teen, identified only as "victim" in an arrest warrant affidavit, was found unresponsive on the floor of Room 106 of the Flagship Inn & Suites on the Gold Star Highway in Groton.

There was a syringe loaded with heroin in the room, along with two empty syringes.

Groton Town Police and members of the Regional Community Enhancement Task Force arrested Gomez on Wednesday after they said they were able to establish that Gomez, a 40-year-old New London native with a lengthy criminal record, had forced the victim to prostitute herself for money.

Gomez, who was living most recently in Uncasville, was arraigned Thursday in New London Superior Court on charges of promoting prostitution and violation of probation.

Judge Omar A. Williams set his bond at $150,000 for the pimping charge and $100,000, cash only, for the probation violation and transferred the case to the court on Huntington Street, where major crimes are heard.

Gomez's next court date is June 21.

An arrest warrant affidavit written by Groton Town Police Sgt. Nicholas Parham, head of the Regional Community Enhancement Task Force, details the interaction between the 17-year-old, a troubled runaway, and Gomez in the days leading up to her death.

The affidavit does not indicate the source of the heroin found in the motel room.

The investigation is continuing, according to police.

At the motel Sunday morning, the responding police officers administered CPR until emergency medical technician/firefighters arrived, according to the affidavit.

Two doses of Narcan did not revive her, and she was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The cause and manner of her death are "pending further studies," according to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which is an indication that the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy will not make a ruling until receiving the results of toxicology tests.

According to the affidavit, Gomez had sent somebody to pick up the girl at an undisclosed location following a text conversation at 2:46 p.m. on May 27, which was the Friday before Memorial Day.

She stayed in Room 106 with two women who also worked as prostitutes and who helped her post an advertisement on Backpage.com, an Internet advertising site, that began, "Hey boys, I'm Baby. I'm new to the area and want to meet you."

The two women in the motel room with the teen called 911 at 2:36 a.m. Sunday and let the responding officers into the room.

By that time, the teen, who was lying on the floor next to the bathroom, was unconscious and had no pulse.

In a follow-up interview with Sgt. Parham and detective Robert Emery, one of the women, identified only as "Witness 1," said Gomez had brought the teen to the motel two days earlier to begin "pimping" her on Backpage.com.

The woman said she had known Gomez for 10 years and has purchased heroin and cocaine from him off and on during that time.

"When BI asks you to do something, you do it," the woman told the investigators.

According to the affidavit, members of the regional task force had been receiving tips since April 1 that Gomez was selling heroin throughout southeastern Connecticut.

Witness 1 said she had helped the teen post her advertisement on Backpage along with two photographs, and that the victim met with three customers, receiving approximately $80 from each of them.

The woman deleted the Backpage post after the teen's death, but the investigators were able to find the deleted post on the witness' cellphone.

The text messages between Gomez and the victim indicated she had to pay the women $20 "rent" to stay in the room and to give a share of her earnings to Gomez.

"I just feel like it's not fair babe," the victim texted Gomez. "And I'm trying to get myself on my feet."

The conversation continued at 8:02 a.m. on May 28, when Gomez texted the victim.

He talked to her about all he had done for the girl and said, "Money is the root to all evil."

At his arraignment Thursday, Gomez wore camouflage pants and a white T-shirt and looked relaxed as he sat on a bench in handcuffs before he was called before the judge.

He gestured to a woman in the gallery who was there on his behalf.

Gomez has two dependent children, according to Bail Commissioner Christopher Manavas.

Gomez has been arrested 26 times in Connecticut and was on probation for a 2013 conviction for sale of narcotics.

In that case, he received a sentence of eight years in prison, fully suspended, with three years of probation.

Attorney Dawn Bradanini from the public defender's office said he has mental health and substance abuse issues and had been working with the local methadone clinic.

She asked that the judge note he will be detoxing from methadone in prison and said that Gomez would be exercising his right to no longer speak with police.

According to a warrant affidavit in the violation of probation case, Gomez's urine had tested positive for cocaine, opiates, oxycodone and marijuana several times between November 2015 and May 5.

In February, he requested to get into the methadone program to "curb his urges," Probation Officer Robert Amanti wrote in the affidavit.

On March 1, he was charged with breach of peace following an argument with a neighbor at his Uncasville apartment.

The charge was reduced to creating a public disturbance and Gomez forfeited the small bond he had posted upon his arrest.

Despite his use of methadone, Gomez's urine continued to test positive for opiates, and on May 17, he agreed to enter a long-term drug treatment program even though he said he would "lose his job and everything he has."

k.florin@theday.com