RONALD Leon Guerrero Ealey Jr. (not Ealy as reported earlier) appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan in the custody of the Department of Corrections on Aug. 31 for a bail hearing.
Ealey, 30, was arrested by the Department of Public Safety on Aug. 29 for robbing two tourists in Marpi and was charged with one count of robbery.
Judge Bogdan imposed a $50,000 cash bail on the defendant who was represented by Chief Public Defender Douglas Hartig, while Assistant Attorney General Steve Kessel appeared for the government.
After the hearing, the judge remanded Ealey to the custody of Corrections and ordered him to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. and for an arraignment on Sept. 19 at 9 a.m.
Police said they learned from the victims, a couple, that prior to the incident, they had stopped on the side of the road while heading to the Grotto in a rental car because a red sedan kept honking at them from behind.
After they stopped, they said the red sedan drove to the front of their rental vehicle and parked at a forty-five-degree angle.
“Victim #2 stated that a male individual (suspect) exited from the driver’s side of the sedan and walked toward their rented vehicle. The suspect continued to walk toward Victim #2 and repeatedly knocked on the driver’s side window while yelling at Victim #2 to roll the window down. The suspect then proceeded to the passenger side of the rental vehicle where the window was rolled down halfway and demanded Victim #1 roll the window down completely before reaching in and grabbing a bag in the middle of both victims,” DPS said.
The suspect then took the bag, ran back to his sedan, and sped off “really fast,” DPS added.
The victims took a photo of the red sedan during the incident.
Both victims said the suspect had a dark complexion, with a beard and a missing front tooth. He was wearing sunglasses, short pants, and a t-shirt.
On the same day, at about 2:27 p.m., a police officer conducted a violator stop on a red Mazda 3 matching the vehicle’s description.
DPS said the driver of the vehicle was secured, and both victims were asked to identify the suspect. They positively identified Ronald Ealey Jr. as the man who robbed them.
According to court documents, Ealey was arrested for robbery in 2012.
