Who is Leticia Ramirez? New York judge frees man caught with rifle, 500 rounds

Maddii Aug 4, 2022, 1:58 AM EDT

2011 civil electoral court Judge Leticia Ramírez. She also served for a time as an Acting Justice of the Manhattan Supreme Court.

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Ramírez agreed to Matthew Velardo’s request for supervised release

On Sunday, July 31, a Bronx man was allegedly found in possession of a rifle. And a large quantity of ammunition was released by New York judge Leticia Ramírez. The same day, the judge released a murder suspect on $5,000 bail, allowing him to return to society. On Sunday, Ramírez granted Matthew Velardo’s request for supervised release and released him. The prosecution requested his release on bail.

Velardo was arrested

Velardo was arrested using American Tactical Tires. He was later charged with criminal use of weapons after discovering a .22 rifle, an extended magazine and 500 rounds of ammunition in the trunk of his vehicle. According to a spokeswoman, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark’s office had requested that he be held on $50,000 bond, $150,000 bond or $150,000 secured bond. But Ramírez ignored the demand.

Officials and jail records confirmed he was released.

Another case included Ramirez’s release the next day of Vernon Gowdy, 54, a tobacco store employee who was accused of fatally killing a man outside the store on Saturday, July 30. During his arraignment on charges of murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon, Ramirez set Gowdy’s bail at $5,000 because the Bronx District Attorney’s Office wanted him confined. Officials and jail records confirmed that he was released on July 31 after paying the fine.

Gowdy, who had worked for city parks, has been arrested 15 times before. In the 1990s, he also spent time in prison. He was arrested in connection with the 1991 murder of Anna McCoy because it was alleged that she had exposed herself to a colleague at the Parks Department in 2011. However, he avoided conviction because there was insufficient evidence. The 2011 civil court election judge, Leticia Ramírez, also served for a time as an interim justice of the Manhattan Supreme Court. She served in the Brooklyn Family Court as an Interim Judge for four years. She was assigned a Sunday assignment to the city’s criminal court, according to a state official.