Maryland man guilty of attempted murder in sledgehammer attack in Annapolis

A Maryland man has been convicted of attempted murder and other charges after he used a sledgehammer to attack another man in Annapolis last June. 

The guilty verdict against 37-year-old Ramon Antonio Rivas-Portillo was handed down Wednesday after several hours of deliberations in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, said a statement released by the county's State's Attorney's office.

The charges against the defendant included attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and carrying a dangerous weapon openly with intent to injure. A sentencing hearing has been set for January 8, 2027.

A witness told police that Rivas-Portillo struck the victim about 20 times with the sledgehammer during the June 18 incident. The 26-year-old man who was attacked suffered critical injuries and had to be airlifted to a trauma center in Baltimore for treatment. 

Victim still suffers headaches and memory loss

The victim survived the attack, but suffered scars to his face and continues to have headaches and memory loss, the statement said. "He is fortunate to be alive, given the potential trauma a sledgehammer can inflict," said State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess. 

Leitess, who prosecuted the case, added, "There is no way this defendant can take back the irreparable, life-changing harm his senseless act of violence caused." 

The attack began in the afternoon on June 18 when Anne Arundel County Police officers were called to the 3200 block of Arundel on the Bay Road in Annapolis for a reported assault, according to court documents. They found the victim bleeding profusely from the head, and multiple bystanders were attempting to render aid and applying pressure to the wound.

Attacker and victim drank together before incident

Before the attack, investigators determined that the defendant, the victim and another man were at a nearby park drinking alcohol. All three individuals left the park in the same vehicle, with the defendant in the front passenger seat, the victim in the back seat and the third man driving. 

"As the men were travelling on Arundel on the Bay Road, the defendant grabbed a sledgehammer and struck the victim in the face with it," said the State's Attorney's statement. "The third man was able to stop the vehicle and pull the victim out. The defendant fled the scene driving the car. The third man told police that Rivas-Portillo struck the victim approximately 20 times with the hammer."

Police later found Rivas-Portillo nearby as he attempted to flee and arrested him.