A man charged with attacking a letter carrier last weekend in Little Village was arrested after his relatives recognized him from surveillance photos and turned him in, according to prosecutors.
Cesar Ramirez, 44, faces multiple felony charges, including attempted aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and vehicular hijacking.
“This is stranger danger of the most violent example,” Judge David Navarro said as he denied bail for Ramirez during a hearing Wednesday.
Ramirez encountered the postal worker, 28, on Saturday afternoon when both of them were in a gas station convenience store at 2801 S. Pulaski Road, prosecutors said.
The letter carrier was behind Ramirez as she approached the counter to pay for her items. They had a brief interaction that was captured on the store’s surveillance cameras, prosecutors said.
When the woman got back in her postal van and drove away, she noticed movement in the back and saw Ramirez, who grabbed her by her hair and threatened to kill her unless she drove to a parking lot several block away, prosecutors said.
After parking, Ramirez told the woman to remove her clothing and attempted to sexually assault her, prosecutors said. When the woman tried to escape, Ramirez allegedly grabbed her by her clothing, but she was able to slip out of the items and run away, prosecutors said.
The woman sought safety at an auto body shop, where she was given a T-shirt and reported the attack to police.
The postal van was spotted and chased by police officers, who said they saw Ramirez in the driver’s seat. The pursuit was terminated after 20 minutes when Ramirez disregarded traffic signals and the chase because it became too dangerous, prosecutors said.
The van was later found abandoned in the 4500 block of West Marquette Avenue.
Investigators allegedly found Ramirez’s car parked at the gas station lot. The letter carrier was shown a photo array by police, but she could not identify anyone, prosecutors said.
Police released footage from surveillance cameras at the gas station and they received a tip the following day from two of Ramirez’s relatives who recognized him, prosecutors said.
A third relative who recognized Ramirez on the news also identified him for police on Monday and told police where to find him, prosecutors said. Ramirez was arrested later that day.
Ramirez is a registered sex offender for a 1999 predatory criminal sexual assault and has previous convictions for home invasion, unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated battery to a peace officer, prosecutors said.
An assistant public defender said Ramirez most recently worked at a soap factory and was living with his mother and aunt at the time of his arrest.
He was expected back in court Nov. 14.
