A 37-year-old Annapolis man was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder Wednesday after a jury convicted him of beating a 26-year-old man with a sledgehammer during a ride from a nearby park. Ramon Antonio Rivas-Portillo now faces sentencing in January for an attack that left his victim with facial scarring, lingering headaches, and memory loss.
The jury also convicted Rivas-Portillo of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and openly carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to injure, according to Eye On Annapolis. The verdict came down November 4 after several hours of deliberation in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, capping a case that began after the men had been drinking.
An Attack During a Drive
The attack followed three men drinking alcohol together at a park near Arundel on the Bay Road in Annapolis on June 18, the outlet reports. The men left the park in a Ford Fusion, with Rivas-Portillo in the front passenger seat, the victim seated directly behind him, and a third man behind the wheel.
Somewhere along the route, Rivas-Portillo turned on the man behind him, striking him repeatedly in the face and head with a sledgehammer. The driver later told investigators the attacker hit the victim approximately 20 times with the hammer, per the same account. The driver eventually stopped the car and pulled the bleeding victim out, while bystanders tried to control the bleeding until help arrived.
Victim Airlifted After Bloody Scene
Police were dispatched to the 3200 block of Arundel on the Bay Road at roughly 2:32 p.m. that day and found the victim bleeding heavily from head injuries. Emergency medical personnel flew him by helicopter to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with serious injuries, the report states.
Witnesses gave investigators the license plate number of the blue Ford Fusion, which police later located unoccupied, with bloody clothing inside. Annapolis police officers subsequently found Rivas-Portillo in an industrial complex off Chinquapin Round Road, where the article notes he had changed his clothing and was attempting to leave the area in another vehicle. The Anne Arundel County Police Department led the investigation, with Annapolis police assisting.
Prosecutor Details Lasting Harm
Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess, who prosecuted the case personally, said the victim suffered two facial lacerations that left scars and continues to have headaches and memory loss. “The victim suffered two lacerations resulting in scars to his face and continues to have headaches and memory loss,” Leitess said, according to Eye On Annapolis.
Leitess also said the victim was fortunate to be alive given the potential trauma a sledgehammer can inflict, and that the defendant cannot undo the irreparable, life-changing harm caused by his act of violence. Rivas-Portillo, who resides in Annapolis, remains in jail as he awaits sentencing.
What Comes Next
Rivas-Portillo is scheduled to be sentenced on January 8, 2027, before Judge Richard Trunnell in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. Under Maryland law, a conviction for attempting to commit second-degree murder carries a statutory maximum of up to 30 years in prison, though that figure represents the outer legal limit rather than any indication of what sentence the judge will actually impose.
