‘Shoot him dead.’ Palmetto man convicted after shooting at Ellenton Premium Outlets
A Manatee County jury convicted a Palmetto man for attempted murder after a shooting in the Ellenton Premium Outlets parking lot.
The jury deliberated for around two hours before finding Octavio Banos, 19, guilty of second-degree attempted murder Wednesday afternoon. According to Florida law, Banos faces between 25 years and life in prison, but a sentencing date has not been set.
Prosecutors said Banos confronted and shot 19-year-old Benjamin Ramirez on July 17, 2022, while Ramirez was shopping with his girlfriend and two of her friends.
The shooting caused a panic at the mall and outlet stores went into lockdown. Patrons were not allowed to enter or leave stores until the scene was cleared by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
After exiting a store at the mall, the group of friends said they saw a man, whom Ramirez recognized as Banos, approach them. The man began antagonizing Ramirez and following them, the group of friends told the court Tuesday.
The three women who were with Ramirez that day testified that they hadn’t seen the man before, but Ramirez told the courtroom that he had a long history with Banos, whom he’s known since elementary school.
“Were you two friendly with each other?” prosecutors asked Ramirez.
“Not so much,” Ramirez said.
‘Shoot him dead’
As soon as Ramirez saw Banos, he said he knew there would be trouble, which is why he tried to usher his friends away and out to the car.
But Banos followed them to the parking lot, according to Ramirez and his friends, who said a black Chevrolet Malibu pulled up and another man got out and started yelling.
“He said at first, ‘Don’t shoot him’ and then he said, ‘If you’re gonna do it, shoot him dead,” said 19-year-old Chelsey Larson, who was with Ramirez that day.
Larson said she didn’t see a weapon, but heard the gunshot sounds and ran.
But Ramirez said he saw the gun that shot him.
Ramirez told jurors that his back was toward Banos as he was trying to leave, but he turned around when he heard a click, where he came face-to-face with Banos pointing a gun at him.
“There’s no cameras around,” Ramirez said Banos told him before shooting him.
Prosecutors said Banos fired six shots at Ramirez, with one of the bullets striking Ramirez in the back of his left inner thigh before exiting and lodging in his right thigh.
Ramirez went to a local hospital, where he received treatment. He said a surgeon removed the bullet from his thigh.
Conviction in Ellenton Outlet Mall shooting
Defense attorney Connie Mederos-Jacobs called Ramirez’s credibility as a witness into question. She pointed out that he was found to have a 9mm Glock handgun in his waistband, which was fully loaded with a bullet in the chamber, despite not having a concealed weapon permit.
“Ben’s own testimony is that he hid his gun so police wouldn’t find it,” Mederos-Jacobs said during closing arguments.
Ramirez said he started carrying the gun earlier that year for his protection.
All three women testified that they had no idea Ramirez had the weapon on him until after he was shot when he took his clothes off to find the bullet wound. They also all testified that Ramirez did nothing to provoke Banos that day.
Ramirez told jurors he wanted to avoid conflict with Banos since his girlfriend and her friends were with him that day.
Key video evidence in shooting trial
In addition to witness testimony, much of the state’s case hinged on a pair of videos played for the court Tuesday.
One of them, a Snapchat video obtained by law enforcement from Banos’ account, showed a man following the group in what appeared to be the parking lot of the mall while he shouted obscenities at Ramirez and antagonized him.
“What are you running for?” The man appeared to ask Ramirez in the Snapchat video.
Prosecutors said this man was Banos, although Mederos-Jacobs argued in closing that the state never took measures to analyze and identify the voice and assumed it was Banos because the video came from his account.
A second video, security footage from the front of the Tommy Hilfiger at Ellenton Premium Outlets, appeared to show a group walking away from a man running after them.
Ramirez identified himself in the video and said the man chasing the group was Banos.
Six shell casings from a .38 were also found at the scene, detectives said.
Law enforcement said at the time that Banos was with two other suspects when he confronted Ramirez.
Two other suspects, both 17 at the time, were also arrested for second-degree murder in connection with the shooting, but prosecutors say the charges were dropped.
Wednesday’s verdict came after a two-day trial presided over by Judge Matt Whyte at the Manatee County Judicial Center in downtown Bradenton.
