An investigation into injuries suffered by an inmate in the Mower County jail has, so far, produced nothing.

Thursday, September 02, 1999

An investigation into injuries suffered by an inmate in the Mower County jail has, so far, produced nothing.

Officials say inmates are being tight-lipped about an incident involving Caritino Ramirez, 30, an illegal alien who was arrested earlier this week after allegedly soliciting sexual acts from an 11-year-old girl.

Ramirez was found bleeding and hunched over a table in D-block on Wednesday.

He was transported to the Austin Medical Center, where a doctor used stitches to close cuts over Ramirez’s right eye and ear.

Ramirez also complained of stomach pains, but no serious abdominal injuries were found. He was returned to his cell later in the day.

Ramirez told a Mower County Sheriff’s Department investigator that he fell off of his bunk. But Mower County Sheriff Barry Simonson said that was an unlikely story.

None of the other inmates have admitted to seeing what happened to Ramirez. D-block normally houses four to eight inmates, Simonson said. The inmates sleep in bunking cells designed for two inmates, but they share a common area, where they can watch TV, play cards, read, etc.

"I guess you’d have to say that everybody in D-block is a suspect," Simonson said.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service in Bloomington has placed a detainer on Ramirez, meaning he is to be held in jail until the INS is able to take him into custody.

Hog falls on man

A hog fell on a worker at Quality Pork Processors on Wednesday.

When Gold Cross Ambulance paramedics arrived to the hog kill-and-cut plant, they found Juan Deanda, 18, on his back under a hog line.

Shortly after the incident, Deanda was in-and-out of consciousness, said the Austin Police Department report. He was taken to the Austin Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

Bar burglarized

Smitty’s Tavern, 105 11th St. SE, was burglarized early Wednesday morning.

Unknown burglar(s) broke in through a northwest window by cutting the screen and breaking panes of glass.

Once inside, the burglar(s) took four neon lights, one clock, two inflatable stock cars, a 12-pack of beer, eight cases of beer, five one dollar bills, compact discs and cigarettes. The burglary occurred between 1:15 a.m. and 3:19 a.m., when a patrol officer discovered the window broken.