By: JOSEPH KELLARD
Police said that Michael Ramirez, 16, of Rockville Centre, used a cell phone stolen from a fellow student at OHS to call the victim-s parents and tell them he had kidnapped their son and wanted money to ensure his return. The call was placed at about 11:45 a.m. on Nov. 3, according to police.
Ramirez makes phone calls to the victim-s home and speaks to the mother, said Detective Bill Miller of the Nassau County Police-s Fourth Precinct, and says basically, ÔWe have your son, we want $5,000, we-ll be at Mario-s Pizzeria [in the Brower Avenue shopping center], and don-t call police or we-ll shank him with a stick.-
After the call, the victim-s mother called the school to find out the whereabouts of her son, and was informed that he was in class and unharmed.
Earlier that morning, the victim-s backpack, containing his cell phone and wallet, was stolen at school, and, according to police, the boy said he later saw a fellow student with the backpack. He spoke with the kid, and the kid says, ÔI didn-t take your wallet or your phone,- Miller said. The school gets involved, and the kid who has the backpack gives up certain information, and we get involved.
Police conducted an investigation, and 15 days after the incident, they arrested Ramirez at his home in Rockville Centre, where police said he was in possession of a gravity knife. Ramirez was arrested and charged with second-degree attempted grand larceny, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
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