Annapolis resident Ramon Antonio Rivas-Portillo, 37, was found guilty of violently assaulting a man during a wild ride after the two had been day drinking with a third man, according to Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess on Thursday.
Shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 18, officers were called to the 3200 block of Arundel on the Bay Road in Annapolis, where they found a 26-year-old man bleeding profusely from his head.
Prosecutors say that bystanders attempted to render aid and apply pressure on the wound until paramedics arrived. The man was airlifted to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with serious injuries.
Witnesses directed officers to a blue Ford Fusion.
According to investigators, prior to the attack, the three men were drinking at a nearby park before leaving in a Ford Fusion.
Rivas-Portillo was in the front passenger seat, his victim was sitting behind him, and the third person drove.
During the drive, Rivas-Portillo grabbed a sledgehammer and struck his victim in the face with it. The third man pulled over and stopped the car, and then Rivas-Portillo sped away in the Ford Fusion.
The third man advised officers that Rivas-Portillo struck his victim nearly two dozen times.
Investigators later found the Ford Fusion unoccupied with bloody clothes inside. A search by Annapolis Police officers at the Lincoln Center led to the discovery of Rivas-Portillo, who attempted to change his clothing while fleeing.
He was arrested without further incident.
It took a jury just hours of deliberation to find Rivas-Portillo guilty of:
- Attempted second-degree murder;
- First-degree assault;
- Reckless endangerment;
- Carrying a dangerous weapon openly with intent to injure.
"The victim suffered two lacerations resulting in scars to his face and continues to have headaches and memory loss. He is fortunate to be alive, given the potential trauma a sledgehammer can inflict,” Leitess added.
"There is no way this defendant can take back the irreparable, life-changing harm his senseless act of violence caused.”
Rivas-Portillo is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2027.
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