Concord, NH - On Dec. 28, 2018, “Fugitive of the Week," Benjamin Lee Ramirez, 38, was arrested in New York as he attempted to board a flight to the Dominican Republic. Mr. Ramirez was wanted by the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office for felonious sexual assault and attempted felonious sexual assault.
Ramirez had been featured as the “Fugitive of the Week," Nov. 28, 2018. This feature was aired on WTPL-FM, WMUR-TV, The Union Leader, The Nashua Telegraph, The Patch, Foster’s Daily Democrat, Manchester Information, the Manchester Ink Link, The Rochester Voice and prominently featured on the internet. The “Fugitive of the Week" has been a very successful tool that has resulted in the location and arrest of numerous fugitives since its implementation in 2007. Additionally, the “Fugitive of the Week" is distributed statewide to all law enforcement officers.
Through an investigation by the NH Joint Fugitive Task Force, information was developed indicating that Ramirez was planning on leaving the United States. This information was shared with our partners at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was due to this notification that ICE was alerted that Ramirez had scheduled an outbound flight to the Dominican Republic out of JFK International Airport in New York. ICE agents were able to intercept Mr. Ramirez and arrest him without incident as he attempted to leave the country.
Ramirez was held in New York City as a fugitive from justice based on the outstanding Rockingham County (NH) arrest warrant. The courts in New York ordered that Ramirez be returned to New Hampshire. On Jan. 14, 2019, members of the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office picked up Ramirez in New York and returned him to New Hampshire so he could be brought to justice on these very serious allegations.
Ramirez is currently being held at the Rockingham County Jail on a $5,000.00 cash bail.
Since the inception of the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force in 2002, these partnerships have resulted in over 7,475 arrests (Updated as of 12/10/2018). These arrests have ranged in seriousness from murder, assault, unregistered sex offenders, probation and parole violations and numerous other serious offenses. Nationally the United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, 8 regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.
