The 21-year-old Lewiston man also pleaded guilty to one count of domestic assault.
AUBURN – A Lewiston man will serve two and a half years in prison for riding his bike around an Auburn school yard while trying to sell 21 grams of cocaine.
Luis Angel Ramirez pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to one count of unlawful trafficking.
Police say the 21-year-old was caught last June after someone called police to report that a man was pedaling around Webster School on Chestnut Street, offering to sell crack cocaine to people in the area.
Instead of sending a police cruiser to the neighborhood, two officers rode to the area on patrol bikes with a description of the suspect.
Shortly after the cops arrived, a man fitting the description rode up to them before recognizing them as officers.
Ramirez initially gave police a false name and denied having any identification, but one of the officers spotted a wallet in his back pocket and asked to see it, according to Assistant District Attorney David Fisher.
After identifying Ramirez and learning that he was on probation for assault, the officers asked him to empty his pockets.
He pulled out a plastic bag with 21 grams of crack, Fisher said.
Ramirez was originally charged with unlawful trafficking in cocaine and criminal trespass. The trespassing charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement with the state.
Also on Wednesday, Ramirez pleaded guilty to one count of domestic assault stemming from an earlier incident in which he was accused of attacking a 2-year-old girl and a 21-year-old woman on Bates Street.
Lewiston police were looking for Ramirez to question him about the assault when he was arrested on the drug charge.
Justice Ellen Gorman sentenced Ramirez to two years in prison for the assault, but that sentence will be served at the same time as the other one.
According to Fisher, Ramirez’s criminal record includes minor thefts and assaults.
“A straight sentence is appropriate based on his track record with probation,” Fisher said.
Ramirez opted not to say anything during his court appearance.
lchmelecki@sunjournal.com
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