Ramos, William, SA

Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent William Ramos of the McAllen District Office, was shot and killed on December 31, 1986. Special Agent Ramos was killed by a drug trafficking suspect while trying to make an arrest during an undercover investigation at Las Milpas, Texas, near the Mexican border. He was 30 years of age at the time of his death.

Special Agent Ramos joined the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1985. Prior to becoming a DEA Special Agent, William Ramos was a U.S. Border Patrol Agent and an Assistant Prosecutor in Mojave, Arizona. Upon his graduation from the DEA Academy in 1985, Special Agent Ramos was assigned to the McAllen, Texas Resident Office.

On December 31, 1986, Special Agent Ramos posed as a drug trafficker and arranged to meet with known marijuana dealer Felipe Molina-Uribe at approximately 7:00 p.m. to purchase 300 pounds of marijuana. Special Agent Ramos and two informants met with the trafficker at a local supermarket parking lot in Las Milpas, Texas, a small suburb east of McAllen. Molina-Uribe was in Special Agent Ramos' undercover vehicle when the DEA surveillance team observed the signal for the arrest of Molina-Uribe. In the seconds it took the arrest team to arrive at the undercover vehicle, a struggle ensued between Special Agent Ramos and Molina-Uribe. During the struggle, Molina-Uribe shot Special Agent Ramos once in the chest.

Special Agent Ramos died at McAllen Methodist Medical Center the same day. In 1988, the International Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association posthumously awarded Special Agent Ramos the Medal of Valor. Special Agent Ramos was survived by his wife, Thelma; and daughters Teresa, and Zarina.