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NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (WOIO) – As 19 News continues to investigate the whereabouts of several dogs that were involved in malicious attacks in May, a new question arises. Where is their owner?
Amanda Ramos Martinez did not appear in court to face the criminal charges arising from the attacks police say her dogs have committed.
19 investigators were on site Thursday morning when a judge issued an arrest warrant against them.
Ramos faces 10 dog crime charges following two different dog attacks earlier this summer.
According to police, Ramos animals bitten four people, including a police officer, in less than two weeks.
Tom McCafferty was one of them.
“The number one question people always ask me is, ‘How did she get the dogs back?'” He said.
North Olmsted councilors Pat Kelly and McCafferty were both at town hall last month when Ramos stormed out of a meeting over her dogs, which she was allowed to keep after both attacks.
“The dogs should have been taken into custody on the day of the bite,” said Kelly.
The warrant issued this Thursday comes more than a month later and after the city ordered her to hand over the dogs for humane euthanasia. Nevertheless, they are not yet in custody.
“They are a danger wherever they are and that is a sad thing,” said Kelly.
While Kelly recommends the city amend its dog attack ordinance to better handle future cases, he says the chaos this has created has yet to be resolved.
“It has been handled completely wrong and we have to try to improve it,” said Kelly.
What happened here on Thursday is part of the criminal case against Ramos.
Prosecutors didn’t want to go on camera but told 19 investigators that the city was working on filing a civil case, which is key to detaining the dogs at the time.
This week, 19 investigators got their hands on papers showing that the County Health Department has seen Ramos’ dogs since the handover order was issued by the city and knows where at least one of the dogs is currently in Cleveland.
In a statement, however, a spokesman told us that the health department was “strictly involved in disease prevention purposes” and “does not enforce the requirements set by the communities”.
“If the dogs had been taken into custody, we wouldn’t have this problem,” said Kelly.
Kelly says the zookeeper should have called the district on the day of the first attack to make this happen.
However, since he did not and the city is still working on the case, officials cannot take the dogs into custody unless they can be found in North Olmsted.
The officers cannot leave the jurisdiction to pursue them.
City prosecutors say if a judge ruled in their favor on the civil suit, the county sheriff would allow the dogs to be taken away.
“My patron saint doubts Thomas,” said Tom McCafferty. “So if I see it happen, I’ll believe you.
Prosecutors tell us the proposed civil lawsuit will be directed against Ramos, her sister and mother who owns the house they lived in.
We’ll keep you informed as soon as we learn about Ramos’ arrest.
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