A 22-year-old man is facing felony assault and robbery charges after Cortland City Police say he threatened multiple people and struck two of them with a running gas-powered weed eater during a confrontation at a hotel earlier this week. Royker Eduardo Ramirez Urbina was taken into custody at the scene after officers responded to reports of a physical altercation and robbery in progress at HomeTowne Studios on River Street.
According to Newport Dispatch, Cortland City Police responded to the hotel at 5:59 p.m. on October 12 after receiving multiple reports of a physical altercation and robbery in progress. Police allege Ramirez Urbina threatened several individuals while demanding their personal property, including telling one victim he would kill them. He also allegedly took the victim's iPhone 16 Pro Max by force, per the same report.
Investigators say the confrontation escalated when Ramirez Urbina threatened to cut a victim with a running gas-powered weed eater and then used the tool to strike two individuals, leaving them injured. WXHC reports that officers located Ramirez Urbina still at the scene and took him into custody there. The confrontation involved a gas-powered yard tool.
Charges Span Felonies and Misdemeanors
Ramirez Urbina was charged with two counts each of assault in the second degree, robbery in the third degree, menacing in the second degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, along with a charge of harassment in the second degree, the Newport Dispatch report states. Under New York Penal Law, assault in the second degree is a Class D violent felony when physical injury is intentionally caused with a dangerous instrument, carrying a mandatory determinate prison sentence of 2 to 7 years upon conviction, according to David Mejia Colgan Law.
Robbery in the third degree is a charge under New York law. The second-degree menacing count is a Class A misdemeanor carrying a maximum term of one year in jail, according to the R.M.L. Law Firm.
Bail, Custody, and a Possible ICE Hold
Ramirez Urbina was arraigned in Cortland City Court on October 13 and sent to Cortland County Jail, the Newport Dispatch report notes. The Pretrial Fairness organization's New York webpage says judges retain discretion to set bail for people charged with violent felonies.
Police determined Ramirez Urbina, a native of Venezuela, was unlawfully present in the United States at the time of the incident, per the Newport Dispatch account. It remains unclear whether ICE has formally lodged a detainer with the Cortland County Sheriff's Office.
Incident at HomeTowne Studios
The confrontation took place at HomeTowne Studios on River Street in Cortland.
Ramirez Urbina was arraigned in Cortland City Court on October 13. It is not yet known whether a Cortland County grand jury has been impaneled to indict Ramirez Urbina, or whether the case has moved beyond city court.
The current medical status of the two victims injured in the HomeTowne Studios incident has not been disclosed. As the case proceeds, questions remain about whether Ramirez Urbina will be indicted by a county grand jury and whether federal immigration authorities will seek custody once his state case concludes.
