Key witnesses questionable at coroner’s inquest

Keith Paul

Friday, May 31, 2002 | 9:53 a.m.

Prosecutors planned to call two men to testify today during a Clark County coroner's inquest into a fatal shooting, although it was unclear if the men would talk.

The two were previously charged with crimes in an incident in which an undercover Metro Police officer was shot at, and the officer returned fire, killing the shooter, police said.

Phillip Ramos, 22, died after he was shot by an officer returning gunfire, police say. Investigators say Ramos rose from the bed of a pickup truck and fired a shotgun at an undercover officer, hitting the roof of the officer's car.

Ramos died as the driver of the pickup truck, Benjymen Cortez, and passenger Ruben Vallejo sped off to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center on May 1.

The two were called to testify about Detective Timothy Schoening's actions, but their willingness to testify was uncertain because both had been charged with attempted murder of a police officer and murder in the death of their friend. The murder charge arose under the law that allows police to charge accomplices when someone -- even a suspect -- is killed during certain crimes.

But those charges were not pursued by prosectors. Vallejo was released from jail. Cortez, who was on parole for a 1980 stabbing death of a 20-year-old man in North Las Vegas when he was a 17-year-old gang leader, was sent to Nevada State Prison on a parole violation.

"Our intention is to call them both as witnesses," said James Miller, a chief deputy Clark County district attorney who will present the case to the jury. "We don't know if they are going to testify."

The charges could be brought back against Vallejo and Cortez, said Sgt. Ken Hefner of Metro's homicide unit.

But prosecutors in charge of the criminal case could not be reached Thursday or this morning to explain why the charges were not pursued or if they are considering refiling the charges.

Miller and Dan Bowman, also a chief deputy district attorney, will present the case to a inquest jury to decide if Schoening's shooting of Ramos was justified, excusable or criminal.

Police say Schoening, a Repeat Offender Program detective, was undercover in a white Jeep in the area of Oakey Boulevard and Eucalyptus Avenue May 1 about 9 p.m. waiting for a suspect he had been searching for.

Schoening said he saw a car driving down the street in a suspicious manner and shined a flashlight on the license plate. The driver eventually left after the two had a verbal confrontation, police said.

A short time later a pickup truck pulled up next to Schoening's Jeep with the bed of the truck by the driver's window. Police say Ramos rose from the back of the truck with a shotgun and fired a blast that hit the roof of the Jeep. Schoening fired several shots at the gunman, hitting him several times, police said.

The driver of the truck fled and drove to Sunrise Hospital where Ramos was treated, but died.

Vallejo and Cortez were arrested that night. Vallejo spoke with investigators, but claimed he never saw Ramos fire a shotgun, but saw gunshots coming from the Jeep. He later told police he had seen a shotgun at Ramos' home, located a short distance from where Schoening was sitting in the Jeep, according to a statement.

Cortez didn't talk with police that night. He had been wanted by the state Division of Parole and Probation since April when he stopped reporting and was considered absconded from parole.

"He had been performing well on parole. He was employed and was getting treatment," said David Sonner, a district administrator.

Cortez was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in 1981. He was paroled in 1989 and returned to prison a few years later for a drug-related conviction. He was released again in July 1998.

Cortez, who is on parole for life, faces a parole revocation hearing, Sonner said.