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Shooting suspect turns up at border

The Clearwater man was apprehended when he tried to enter Canada. A computer check alerted border authorities of a warrant.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published October 11, 2005

DUNEDIN - A computer check at the Canadian-U.S. border stopped a suspect in a June 8 shooting here from fleeing the United States early Sunday morning, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said.

Detectives said Ronnie R. Lewis, 22, of 1114 Palm Bluff St. in Clearwater tried to enter Canada at the International Bridge in International Falls, Minn., at 12:17 a.m. Sunday.

When a computer check by the Canadian Border Services Agency showed a Pinellas County warrant for Lewis, Canadian authorities turned him over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.

Lewis was taken to the Koochiching County Jail in Minnesota. He is there awaiting extradition to Pinellas County.

Lewis is a suspect in the shooting of Carlos E. Ramos Jr., 18, of Tarpon Springs, in the parking lot of the Lo Garto Apartments at 258 Milwaukee Ave. in Dunedin.

On June 8, Ramos, 18, arrived at the parking lot at about 3 p.m. to meet Lewis, who had called the meeting. The two rappers were supposed to talk about music.

The Sheriff's Office said Lewis got in the 2002 Silver Hyundai that Ramos drove, pulled out a gun and demanded money.

Ramos said he didn't have any. Lewis shot into Ramos' face, the Sheriff's Office said. The bullet tore through his cheek and lodged behind his right ear. A second shot grazed his head. Lewis fled, the Sheriff's Office said, without getting any money.

Wiping blood from his face and driving two blocks, Ramos collapsed in a yard at 48 New York Ave. Someone called 911. He was taken to a local hospital, where he spent a week getting his wounds treated before being released.

Until Sunday, Lewis was on the run. His arrest was fairly routine, said Mike Milne, press officer for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service. He said 1.1-million people come through the 300 points of entry into the United States a day. On average, more than 150 arrests are made daily at those points of entry, he said.

"This is a good example of how our two border agencies work on protecting our borders," Milne said.

[Last modified October 11, 2005, 01:58:15]