SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The man who attacked another person over a fire pit in Ocean Beach received his punishment Tuesday afternoon in a San Diego courtroom.
Gabriel Douglas Ramos faced a charge of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.
Judge Rachel Cano sentenced the 36-year-old to formal probation for three years and 90 days in custody through a work furlough program. He is not allowed to own a gun, must pay restitution and stay away from La and his other friends who were present that night in 2021.
The attack happened on June 15, 2021. The victim, Kobe La, said he and his were excited to be together as mask restrictions started to relax during the pandemic.
Ramos claimed the group stole their fire pit and while La said they could all share, Ramos returned later that night with other people and punched La in the face.
In a video taken of the attack, you can also hear a woman call someone in La's group, "You yellow b——."
“I still haven’t gone back to that beach because I’m still afraid something like that can happen,” La told the judge on Tuesday during his victim impact statement. “I think the most important fact for me is, I shouldn’t feel like something like that can happen in our community.”
He suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured jaw. “I had screws driven into my jaw and my teeth were rubber banded shut,” La said during a previous interview with Team 10. “I lost 20 pounds.”
Ramos’ attorney argued for the court to allow the assault charge to be deemed a misdemeanor, something Judge Cano denied.
“That was a really bad decision,” she said, referring to Ramos’ returning to Ocean Beach later that night to confront La and his friends. “Unfortunately, you’re going to have to suffer from that for your life.”
During his statement, Ramos expressed his remorse over the incident. He apologized directly to La in court.
“I just need to be better, period,” Ramos said. “There’s no excuse for what I did. The rest of my life, I’m going to make sure that I put for actions to make sure I’ll never do something like this again. It was stupid, it was childish, it was disrespectful… I’ve had nothing but regret.”
La has filed a civil lawsuit against Ramos, alleging assault, battery, negligence and violence based on race and national origin.
