MOUNT PLEASANT, MI — As he was in the process of fleeing police after allegedly abducting and raping a Central Michigan University student, Eric L. Ramsey shared a Facebook post stating he was "about to get shot."
Ramsey, 30, is the man Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said was shot by a Crawford County sheriff's deputy after Ramsey led police on a vehicle chase through two counties.
Sometime between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., Ramsey shared a Facebook post stating, “Well folkes im about to get shot. Peace.”
The status update appeared about five hours, Mioduszewski said, after Ramsey approached a woman, a senior from the Grand Rapids area, on CMU's campus and forced her into her own vehicle at gunpoint. Ramsey then took her to an Isabella County residence, bound her and raped her, Mioduszewski said.
He then put her back in the car, retrieved two gas cans, got in the car and began driving, the sheriff stated in a press release. While they were driving, the release stated, Ramsey told the woman that he was going to kill her.
Eric L. Ramsey's Facebook profile picture
The victim jumped out of Ramsey's moving vehicle to save her life, the sheriff said. After doing so, she ran to a residence on South Mission, yelling for help, the sheriff stated. A resident at the home let her into the house and immediately locked the door, Mioduszewski said.
While the woman was on the phone with 911, Ramsey poured gasoline on the house and lit it on fire, the sheriff stated. There were four individuals in the house at the time, he said.
Ramsey then fled, Mioduszewski said. Several hours later, Regional Dispatch in Gaylord reported that a vehicle matching the suspect vehicle's description rammed a state trooper's vehicle.
Ramsey fled the scene, stole a sanitation truck and then rammed another trooper's vehicle, the sheriff stated. A Crawford County deputy located the truck a “short while later,” the release stated, and Ramsey hit “the deputy's car head on.”
Eric L. Ramsey shared this post on Facebook sometime between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 17. Ramsey was fatally shot by police after a police chase, hours after police say he abducted and raped a Central Michigan University student.
The deputy exited his patrol car, “ran up to the cab of the pickup and fired shots, fatally wounding the suspect,” the sheriff stated.
The victim now is safe and with her family, said CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley.
Mioduszewski said Ramsey was from Mount Pleasant; his Facebook profile states that he is from Shepherd and went to Shepherd High School.
State Department of Corrections records show Ramsey was gained parole on July 12. Ramsey was sentenced to prison in July 2007 for four felonies, including assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder in Isabella County and felonious assault in Gratiot County.
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