Man guilty of attempted murder in Aurora stabbing

An Aurora man has been convicted of attempted murder for stabbing another man last year in the western suburb.

On Thursday, a Kane County jury found 35-year-old Shaun J. Ramirez guilty of attempted murder and armed violence, both felonies, after two and a half hours of deliberation, according to the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.

Ramirez was talking to the victim, then 46, outside his home in the 1300 block of North Glen Circle in Aurora about 7 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2016, prosecutors said. Ramirez, who was intoxicated, punched the other man in the mouth and slashed the left side of his body with a knife when he tried to walk away.

The victim wrestled Ramirez to the ground and the two men “exchanged punches,” prosecutors said.

The victim then stood up, told Ramirez the fight was over, and got into the passenger seat of a friend’s 2010 Lincoln MKZ, according to prosecutors and Aurora police. Ramirez reached through the open passenger-side window and stabbed the man multiple times in the face and throat.

Ramirez then “grabbed the victim’s right arm and began to saw at it, cutting a large chunk from the bone and leaving a large hole in the arm,” prosecutors said. The driver of the car then drove away, forcing the knife out of Ramirez’s hand and into the vehicle, and took the victim to a hospital.

The victim is still recovering from multiple injuries, including detached tendons, and will likely have permanent damage as a result of the attack, prosecutors said. He told investigators he believed Ramirez was trying to kill him.

At the time of the attack, Ramirez was on parole for a 2014 aggravated battery conviction, and he has a history of prior convictions for violent crimes, the state’s attorney’s office said. He faces a sentence of 10-30 years in prison.

“To describe this attack as ‘violent’ seems inadequate,” State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said in the statement. “It was vicious, chilling and almost deadly. By all accounts this victim is fortunate to have survived. Mr. Ramirez is dangerous and belongs back in prison.”

Associate Judge David Kliment set Ramirez’s next court date for Oct. 26 for motions and sentencing.