Judge Accepts Guilty Plea In Capital Gazette Case

Former Capital reporter Phil Davis and Capital reporter Rachael Pacella speak to the media after the guilty plea. Credit: Phil Yacuboski

Prosecutors have reached a plea deal with the man accused of killing five in the Capital Gazette newsroom last year.

Jarrod Ramos pleaded guilty to 23 counts against him. The plea was accepted late Monday afternoon by Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Laura Ripken.

The second phase of the trial, aimed at determining whether he was criminally responsible, will proceed as planned. Jury selection for that phase will proceed Wednesday morning.

The guilty plea in the #JarrodRamos case has been accepted by he judge; just selection in the criminal responsibility phase of the trial is set to begin Wednesday @wbalradio — Phil Yacuboski (@WBALPhil) October 28, 2019

Ramos' defense attorney, Katy O'Donnell, announced Monday afternoon that Ramos is pleading guilty to all counts in the indictment. Ramos had originally pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible, Maryland's version of the insanity defense.

Ripken asked Ramos several times whether he understood he was giving up his right to the first phase of the trial, to which he responded, "That is correct." Asked if he was guilty of all 23 counts in the indictment, Ramos said, "Yes, I am."

Breaking - guilty plea in the #JarrodRamos case - he still wants a jury trial for the criminal responsibility portion of the case - details still being worked out @wbalradio — Phil Yacuboski (@WBALPhil) October 28, 2019

The pretrial hearing, initially scheduled for 11 a.m., was pushed back as prosecutors worked to resolve various issues.

There’s now a 2 PM hearing set in the #JarrodRamos case - more ‘pre-trial motions’ are expected - the hearing was set to take place at 11 AM, but lawyers say they have been working all morning @wbalradio pic.twitter.com/jeenpMUD9w — Phil Yacuboski (@WBALPhil) October 28, 2019

On June 28, 2018, Ramos entered the newspaper's Annapolis offices and fatally shot editorial page editor Gerald Fischman, assistant editor Rob Hiaasen, reporter John McNamara, sales assistant Rebecca Smith and community reporter Wendi Winters. It was one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in U.S. history.

The defense said the state refused to allow them to look at the statement of facts before it was read into the record. Because of that, there was a brief recess taken Monday afternoon.

The defense team objected to certain parts of the statement of facts because there remains a second phase of the trial.

There was a quote read from the statement of facts from a survivor of the shooting, Paul Gillespie, in which he said, "It seemed as if he was clearing the room of people, killing them as he saw them."

Gillespie told police he believed the shooter was searching for people to kill.

The state read its statement of facts Monday afternoon, which includes a 911 call made by Ramos at 2:38 p.m. on June 28, 2018: "This is your shooter. The shooting is over. I am at 888 Bestgate Road, Suite 104. I am now unarmed."

Current and former Capital Gazette staffers were in the courtroom at the time.

"I think what was more horrible was the stuff I didn't know," Capital reporter Selene San Felice said. "It's hard to comprehend what happened in that room, even if you were inside that room, so learning that information, it's really difficult, but it's stuff that people needed to hear."

Former Capital reporter Phil Davis, now with The Baltimore Sun, said the plea "brings a sense of closure" even though the criminal responsibility phase remains.

Rachael Pacella, a Capital reporter who survived the shooting by hiding between file cabinets, said Ramos’ guilty plea brought a “big emotional relief” for her.

“I definitely feel a little bit better and a little bit lighter after this plea,” she said.

Rick Hutzell, the newspaper’s editor, said he hopes Ramos’ guilty plea provides some comfort to the survivors of the shootings and relatives of the five employees who were killed. But he said he doesn’t know if it brings any justice.

“There is no justice for the dead,” Hutzell said.

Ramos had been charged with five counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault and related firearm offenses.

Ramos had a longstanding grudge against the paper, which reported on his guilty plea for criminal harassment of a former high school classmate. He sued the paper for defamation in 2012. After multiple appeals, the case was dismissed. However, Ramos' harassment of the paper's staff continued.

A mental evaluation conducted by state doctors found Ramos sane to stand trial.

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WBAL-TV 11 and The Associated Press contributed to this report.