A plea entry hearing is being delayed for a former Metropolitan Police Department officer after prosecutors asked for more time to work out details and a judge expressed concerns about the current terms.
An attorney for the victim in the case said that his client was not consulted about the deal, though prosecutors said she was hard to reach.
Manuel Ramangmou, 28, is accused of asking a woman for a hug and kiss while on duty and touching her buttocks.
He was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday after prosecutors filed a Friday plea agreement. The plea deal specified that he would make an Alford guilty plea to a gross misdemeanor count of oppression under color of office.
An Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors could prove their case.
Ramangmou agreed to resign from Metro and prosecutors agreed to recommend that he be sentenced to credit for time served, according to court filings. Metro said he has already left the department.
In addition, the plea agreement states: “The State agrees not to proceed on the additional crimes discovered in his phone.”
Typically, a defendant whose case is “bound over,” or moved, from Las Vegas Justice Court to District Court would enter a guilty plea at arraignment if such an agreement is filed before the hearing.
But instead, at the Tuesday hearing, Deputy District Attorney Julia Barker said, “After speaking with some individuals, we would be asking for a status check so we can iron out some additional details.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” District Judge Eric Johnson replied. “I’ll be frank: I have real hesitancy in terms of my first general look at the guilty plea agreement in this case, in particular references to the defendant’s phone, waiving crimes related to that without any specificity. And obviously, I have some concerns in terms of the general conduct here.”
Defense attorney Warren Geller declined to comment after court.
Ramangmou appeared with him out of custody, wearing a dark suit, white dress shirt and tie, and standing 5 feet, 2 inches tall, according to Metro records.
Assistant District Attorney Alex Chen said after court that his office tried to reach the victim but had difficulty making contact with her. Their efforts included mailing a letter and calling and leaving voicemails, he said.
He said they did not get a response.
Concerns from victim’s attorney
Attorney Carl Arnold, who represents victim April Woolum, told reporters that his client had “no participation” in Ramangmou’s plea deal, but said it was a relief that the officer would leave Metro.
“Nevertheless, we were concerned that he was just going to walk away from this deal without any significant criminal consequences,” he said.
He said that after speaking with Barker, he expected to have a meeting with higher-ranking officials in the district attorney’s office “and figure out a more significant charge that can be addressed and possibly go against Mr. Ramangmou.”
Asked about the plea deal’s language regarding the officer’s phone, Arnold said Ramangmou’s text messages showed the officer’s intent to have sex with Woolum.
Chen said that as far as he knows, there are no additional crimes on the phone and no overtly sexual text messages.
“We want to just continue having conversations with Carl and his client, especially since we had trouble getting ahold of her before,” he said. “I think now we just want to explain what’s going on so that they can understand it.”
He said it was hard to comment on whether the terms of the plea agreement could change and that prosecutors charged Ramangmou based on the evidence available.
But prosecutors also want to make sure they have complete information about the case.
“We have the evidence that was given to us via the police department in terms of these text messages, for instance,” Chen said. “If somehow Carl Arnold has something that we’re unaware of and they wish to present that, then who knows what. I’m kind of speaking in hypotheticals, but I don’t know what that leads to.”
He added that the scenario he described had not yet happened.
‘Shaking and terrified during the encounter’
It was 3:41 a.m. on May 9 when Ramangmou responded to a suspicious vehicle call in the 3400 block of East Sunset Road and found a woman sleeping in a van in a parking lot. Police said Woolum told them she was living in her van.
The officer approached Woolum and told her to leave, which she agreed to do, according to police.
Then, he later admitted to detectives, he turned off his body camera and approached her again to ask if she was single and get “her information to hangout,” an arrest report stated.
Ramangmou acknowledged hugging her in a wooded area he selected because it was hidden and asking her for a kiss, which she declined, the report said.
The Metro report said Woolum told police the situation was awkward and made her feel “highly uncomfortable.” She said she was frightened and only complied with his request for a hug to avoid upsetting him. She alleged that Ramangmou also rubbed her buttocks.
“April stated that she was shaking and terrified during the encounter,” according to the report.
Ramangmou, who is representing himself in a related federal lawsuit, has argued in court papers that his contact with Woolum was consensual.
“Absolutely not consensual,” Woolum told a reporter. “No woman wakes up at 4 o’clock in the morning and wants to get molested in the bushes.”
A continued arraignment hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com.
