My non-fiction story, Almost Out of Time, was published this year in the Mammoth Book of Tough Guys. In this story, a young man in Scottsdale outwits a rampaging murderer.
The story published in the book is about what actually happened that night (3/22/09). What I can now report is how the court case turned out.
Ramsen Dadesho, after a long, rocky path, plead guilty to:
Count 1, Second Degree Murder, Dangerous Class 1 Felony
Count 5, Attempted Use of Wire Communication or Electronic Communication in Drug Related Transactions Class 5 Felony
Dadesho has been sentenced to 22 years in state prison, with credit for time served (about a year and half). Upon release, he’ll have 3 years supervised probation and start paying $100 a month restitution.
After initially fighting not only arrest but later the court case, Dadesho had a change of heart. He accepted a plea deal and then wrote a long letter of remorse to the court.
He writes, “my parents taught me to be a better person than I have been. I know they grieve the Merza’s loss and their shame about me.”
He talks about a good childhood and the close Assyrian community in Modesto that his crime has shattered. “I am so ashamed I can barely breathe. I have been to court about twenty times since I shot Rami, and his family has been there every time. I have seen their pain, grief, sadness and anger. I hate myself for what I did.”
Dadesho states flatly “there is no excuse.” Then he goes on to explain he had done well in the mortgage business until the big collapse in 2008. Before long, he found himself dealing drugs to make up his losses. He claims in the letter that he and Rami went to Arizona that weekend to sell the street drug Xstacy at the Scottsdale nightclubs but it hadn’t gone well. He and Rami were both high themselves. In a vague unsubstantiated ramble about their frustrations, he talks about becoming afraid that Rami intended to kill him. That’s the reason he shot first.
(That’s all very interesting except that Rami was shot in the back of the head as well as two other times.)
Dadesho’s letter goes on to admit that he lied to police at first and that was because he couldn’t admit it to himself, “I did not want to be the one who killed Rami.”
His letter ends by apologizing to the Merzas again, even though it “does nothing” for them. “When I decided to take the plea, my dad said that a man accepts the consequences of his actions. I do accept the consequences of my actions.”
Well, he’s got 20 years to think about it now. Dadesho will be a middle aged man when he gets out. His actions that night, not only murderous, but spoiled and cowardly, only put into sharper relief the bravery of the hero of the story, the innocent bystander who was just doing his job that night and, incredibly, worried about finishing up in spite of what he’d just been through. It was an amazing story to write. I’m glad now to supply the update.
P.S. There are many UK visitors to this blog. This book is originally published in the UK under the title THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF HARD BASTARDS.
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