Accused Arsonist Remains In Jail Despite Judge’s Orders For Treatment

A hearing was held in Jefferson County Court on Wednesday, September 22, for Lorenzo Ramirez, who is charged with first degree arson, a class 2 felony punishable by up to 50 years in prison, and resisting arrest, a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.Ramirez did not appear in court. His attorney, Benjamin Murray, had filed a motion for a competency evaluation. According to an evaluation completed on May 18, Ramirez is unable to assist in his own defense and not competent to stand trial.In her decision, the presiding judge, Linda Bauer, wrote, “It is therefore ordered that the Defendant is incompetent to stand trial and he is ordered to be held for inpatient services at the Lincoln Regional Center, Lincoln, NE until it is determined he is competent to stand trial.”Despite this order, Ramirez currently remains at the Jefferson County Jail. There have been long waits for inmates to receive needed mental health treatment, even when that treatment is ordered by a judge. Jefferson County Sheriff Nick Georgi met with County Commissioners on September 14 to discuss mental health services for inmates. The Sheriff said, “We have a couple inmates right now that are sitting there waiting to go the Regional Center.”According to Joseph Murray, another of the defendant's attorneys, “The information we have is he is 31st on the list.”State statue requires that competency cases such as this be reviewed every 60 days. The next hearing is scheduled for November 24.Ramirez was arrested in connection with a suspicious house fire that began shortly before midnight on Tuesday, April 27. At that time, the Fairbury Rural Fire Department was dispatched to the 1300 block of D Street in Fairbury. The dispatcher reported a porch was “smoldering” and that a neighbor had seen the fire and turned a hose on it. The fire was extinguished with minimal damage. Fairbury Fire Chief Kenny Krause noted, “It was out on our arrival.”This was actually the second fire of the night. An earlier fire was reported at approximately 10:00 p.m. just a few blocks away on G Street. Krause noted that two fires, so close together in both location and time was naturally suspicious and the Fire Marshall was called in to investigate. Krause told FJN, “We remained on scene all night, mainly because the investigator wanted to look at both the fire scenes.”While the earlier fire was determined to be an accident, the later fire on D Street was suspicious. The investigation led to the arrest of Ramirez.

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