26. From Voyeurism to Burglary, Child Molestation, and Violating Women
In his teens, Richard Ramirez got a job at a Holiday Inn, and began to put the lessons on stealth taught to him by his former Green Beret cousin, Mike, to practical use in burglaries. He used his hotel passkey to sneak into guests’ rooms as they slept, went through their possessions, and stole their valuables. He also began to molest underage guests, and on at least one occasion, fondled two children in an elevator, but was not charged or prosecuted. He finally got fired from the Holiday Inn when he tried to force a woman in her hotel room.
She was saved by her husband’s timely return. The husband beat the daylights out of Ramirez until the would-be perpetrator was knocked out senseless. The police then arrived and took him into custody. Prosecutors hit him with a variety of felonies that could have put him away for a long time – and in so doing probably spared many victims in years to come. Unfortunately, the charges were eventually dropped because the couple, who were from out of state, did not want to go back to Texas to testify against Ramirez.