Man With History of Abuse Allegedly Flees With Twin Daughters, Threatens Mother, and Is Found With Drugs and Weapon

Officers arrested Ramirez at a service station with a knife in hand and children beside him, later discovering a pellet gun, a glass pipe, and a fresh burn on one child’s arm; the case now includes child neglect, domestic violence, and contempt charges.

ST. CROIX — A man was arrested last week on domestic violence and child neglect charges after allegedly threatening to kill his twin daughters.

According to court documents, police were alerted to the situation on July 9, after a woman approached a former law enforcement officer to seek help. The woman said that the father of her children had defied a restraining order and picked up the children early from daycare, without her knowledge or permission.

When the daycare called to inform her that the children were being picked up by their father, Joseph Ramirez, the woman said that she rushed to the facility with a copy of the restraining order, which had been issued in June. By the time she got there, however, the children and Ramirez were already gone.

The woman said that while driving home, she was flagged down by a vehicle that was following behind her. When she realized it was Ramirez, she pulled over.

Ramirez reportedly came over and began yelling and banging on her driver's side car window. When he flashed a black handgun he was holding, the woman said she feared for her life and quickly drove away.

She first stopped at the Ann Schrader Command to make a report, but the police station in the La Reine Shopping Center was closed.