Arnett man pleads guilty to shooting Oklahoma trooper

WOODWARD—An Arnett man pleaded guilty Tuesday to shooting an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper during an early morning traffic stop last summer.

Troop er Austin Ellis survived because he was wearing a protective vest.

Arturo De Jesus Ramirez ,27, pleaded guilty in Woodward County District Court to eight felony counts. They included shooting with intent to kill and possession of a firearm while on felony probation.

Ramirez also pleaded guilty to eluding, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, breaking and entering ad welling without permission, transporting an open bottle or container of liquor, and cocaine possession.

He could face up to life in prison when he is sentenced in October.

Ramirez admitted in court papers to shooting Ellis "without justifiable or excusable cause" during a traffic stop about 12:30 a.m. Aug. 26, 2018, outside a hotel along U.S. 183 in Woodward. A bullet that struck Ellis' protective vest broke a rib.

"I willfully increased my speed in an attempt to elude Trooper Austin Ellis ... after I had received a visual and audible signal an dared light directed at me and I failed to yield by traveling at a high rate of speed, failing to follow traffic signals, and weaving among other drivers in a manner as to endanger other persons."

The patrol reported that Ellis had stopped Ramirez on a seat belt violation. Ramirez drove into the hotel's parking lot where he opened fire and Ellis exchanged gunfire. The bullet did not penetrate Ellis' vest, the patrol reported.

Ramirez suffered a gunshot wound to the hand and was arrested later that day at a residence in Woodward, the patrol reported.

In January 2018, Ramirez was convicted of assaulting an emergency medical technician in Woodward County, records show.