Thugs shot by would-be victim make plea deals

Two men who got shot while trying to rob Uncle Tony's Italian restaurant in Vista admitted to assault with a firearm, and each can expect four years in prison, according to their plea-deal paperwork.

Louis Enrique Cruz, 19, and Sergio Rivera Ramos, 24, were both charged with six felonies when they were brought into San Diego’s North County Superior Courthouse on January 8.

The charges included kidnap, attempted robbery, and assault with a firearm on three victims, in connection with an incident that occurred after 9 p.m. on January 3. Both defendants were reportedly on probation at the time.

One of the intended victims “retrieved his own handgun and shot the suspects in self-defense,” according to a statement by sheriff’s sergeant Jay Pavlenko. The would-be victim “fired eight shots from his handgun at the suspects while in the business” and “believed he hit both suspects in the upper-body area.”

Both Cruz and Ramos were arrested a few hours later, after deputies were called to the emergency room of Tri-City Hospital in the neighboring community of Oceanside. Each suspect was described as “armed with handgun” in one deputy’s report.

In paperwork signed on January 17, Cruz admitted that he “unlawfully pointed a gun at another person. I was personally armed with a firearm at that time.”

Ramos stated: “I assaulted Kyle Santiago with a firearm.”

According to the plea deal, both Cruz and Ramos specifically admitted assaulting 20-year-old Kyle Santiago, who is one of the victims named in the charging document by prosecutor Christine Bannon.

Sentencing for both men is set for February 19.