Jarrod Ramos’ letters stated ‘objective of killing every person present’ at Capital Gazette: Report

The man suspected in the massacre at an Annapolis newspaper reportedly sent at least three threatening notes, one of which sent the day of the shooting said he would go to the newsroom “with the objective of killing every person present.”

The Baltimore Sun reported Monday evening that Jarrod Ramos sent one note to the newspaper’s former attorney with the instruction of sharing it with Thomas Marquardt, the paper’s former publisher. Other notes were sent, according to the Sun citing Anne Arundel County investigators, to Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals and one to a Baltimore City judge.

The note sent to the lawyer was dated June 28 — the day of the shootings — and was a parody of a legal motion to reconsider, the Sun reported.

The Court of Special Appeals had refused in 2016 to hear a flimsy case Mr. Ramos had brought against the Capital gazette for defamation — accurately reporting on his criminal record. The note Mr. Ramos sent to the attorney claims to come from that court and says that since “the law now means nothing” the complainant has the right to “self-help [via] the clan or blood feud.”

“You were too cowardly to confront those lies, and this is your receipt,” the “court” orders, according to the “legal notice” an image of which was published online by the Sun.

Another part of the filing says the blood debt was then executed.

“I further certify I then did proceed to the office of respondent Capital-Gazette Communications … with the objective of killing every person present,” the note, signed by Mr. Ramos, then says, parodying the legal language of debt-collection.

An attachment to the letter intended for retired Judge Charles Moylan Jr., who dismissed Mr. Ramos’s defamation case in a scathing opinion, reads “Welcome, Mr. Moylan, to your unexpected legacy: YOU should have died.” He parts with the greeting “Friends forever” and his name.

The note mailed Thursday was received by the Capital Gazette lawyers Monday, the Sun reported.

The Sun did not go into detail on the other two notes, although it reported that Anne Arundel police spokesman Marc Limansky said they had Mr. Ramos’ name and return address.

“They’ll examine them and see what the letters show,” he told the Baltimore paper, which owns the Capital Gazette. “It could point to different things. It could maybe open up another avenue of exploration.”