Vincent Keithan

In the early morning hours of March 1, 2022, a confrontation in the parking lot of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in Saint Johnsbury ended the life of Vincent Keithan. A 44-year-old White man and resident of the town, Keithan was found with a single gunshot wound to his neck and was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy later confirmed the cause of death and ruled it a homicide.

According to court documents, the shooting was the culmination of a conflict that began hours earlier at a home in nearby Lyndonville. Investigators believed the incident was drug-related and involved a dispute over a woman. A prosecutor later alleged that the suspect, Jerry Ramirez, had “hunted” Keithan for over six hours, at one point breaking the windows of Keithan’s truck with a gun. The search ended when Ramirez located Keithan in a car with two women in the hospital parking lot. Witnesses stated that Ramirez got into their car, struck one of the women, and then pursued Keithan on foot when he tried to flee. After a brief exchange, Ramirez shot Keithan once and drove away.

The Vermont State Police immediately launched an investigation, identifying a Jeep Wrangler seen leaving the hospital as a vehicle of interest. An alert was issued to law enforcement agencies throughout the region. Later that day, New York State Police spotted the Jeep traveling south on the Taconic State Parkway in Milan, New York, about 265 miles from Saint Johnsbury.

When troopers attempted a traffic stop, the driver refused to comply, leading to a brief pursuit. The chase ended after police successfully used spike strips to disable the Jeep. The driver and a passenger then fled on foot into nearby woods but were quickly apprehended. The passenger was questioned and released without charges. The driver was identified as Jerry Ramirez, a 35-year-old from Brooklyn, New York.

Ramirez was initially held in New York on a warrant for aggravated assault related to the incident in the car just before the shooting. He was extradited to Vermont on March 15, 2022, and arrested the next day on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Vincent Keithan. At his arraignment, Ramirez pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail.

The case proceeded for nearly three years. After a key witness died, which significantly impacted the state’s case, prosecutors offered a plea agreement. In February 2025, Jerry Ramirez accepted the deal, pleading no contest to a reduced charge of manslaughter. On February 26, 2025, a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison with credit for time served. Keithan’s family, who spoke in court, expressed their profound disagreement with the plea deal and urged the judge to impose a harsher sentence.