Utahn sent to prison for shooting, killing man on I-15 almost 16 years ago

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — A 35-year-old father of four told a judge he has changed since he fired a gun on I-15, killing the driver of another car — 18-year-old Cesar Ramirez — during rush hour traffic on Jan. 9, 2009.

"Those were the actions of a 19-year-old who was lost in life. … I'm not the same person who made that mistake almost 16 years ago," Aaron J. Paul Campbell said at his sentencing Thursday.

The man said he takes full responsibility for what he did, but he also said all five of the people involved in the incident in his car and the victims are also to blame for what happened.

Police say Ramirez and his brother were in a Jeep Grand Cherokee that day and had been in an ongoing argument with Campbell and two others who were in a Nissan Maxima — Nicholas Dean MacNeil, then 20, and Matthew James Day, then 23. Day, who was driving, said the occupants of the Jeep made gang signs and Ramierez's brother threw a bottle at the Maxima. The Maxima then followed the Jeep and pulled up next to them on I-15. Campbell had a .40-caliber pistol and MacNeil had a .410 shotgun, and they both fired at the Jeep in rush hour traffic, according to court documents.

Campbell said Thursday they weren't the initial aggressors, but they followed the Jeep onto the freeway. He claimed Ramirez and his brother acted like they didn't want to get away, but wanted to be caught by Campbell and his friends. When he saw the person in the passenger seat lean over like he was grabbing something, Campbell said he decided to fire.

Day was arrested and charged in 2009 and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Campbell and MacNeil weren't charged until January 2023. Investigators said both men were associated with the Nortenos gang and have a history of violent criminal activity.

Third District Judge Barry Lawrence sentenced Campbell to a term of two to 20 years in prison for manslaughter, a second-degree felony with a firearm enhancement. He gave the man credit for the almost two years he has already spent in jail.

"I truly hope that when you get out, you get back on the path that you were on," the judge told Campbell.

He said he is glad Campbell is taking responsibility, but said he doesn't know if the man would have ever taken responsibility if charges hadn't been filed. He said Campbell firing the weapon escalated the incident, addressing Campbell's statement by saying not everyone should be blamed equally.

"I want to be clear that the person who has … been unjustly treated and unfairly treated is Ceasar — because he's not with us today," Lawrence said.

Ramirez's mother, Alma Olmedo, said Campbell "took everything away that day."

She spoke through an interpreter, telling the judge her son had no criminal record. She said Campbell's actions could have put others on the freeway at risk, as well.

"My son has a family, and his family will not be able to see him again. He did not come home," she said.

Deputy Salt Lake County attorney Vincent Meister and Campbell's attorney Rudy Bautista each told the judge they supported a prison sentence in this case, but multiple family members of Campbell asked for leniency in letters submitted to the judge. Bautista asked the judge to send the letters to Adult Probation and Parole so they would be considered when Campbell is offered a parole hearing.

Meister said Campbell has had no criminal activity over the last 10 years, but that doesn't change that he "senselessly" took another person's life. The prosecutor said there needs to be consequences.

He said Ramirez "suffered" and died six days after he was shot.

MacNeil, 34, who was a passenger in the car along with Campbell, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a second-degree felony, on Friday in the case. MacNeil was charged at the same time as Campbell in early 2023.