Authorities asked the public Monday to keep an eye out for an ex-convict who allegedly beat his girlfriend in Vista, then attacked a witness who came to her aid.
The good Samaritan saw 34-year-old Ulysses Ramos allegedly attacking the woman outside a home in the 100 block of West Indian Rock Road in Vista shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
When the witness intervened, Ramos allegedly responded by attacking him with a three-foot-long metal chain, Sgt. Nanette McMasters said.
Before leaving the area, Ramos reportedly told the witness he was going to retrieve a “strap” — by which, investigators believe, he meant a gun.
The good Samaritan then made an emergency call to report the incident, and deputies went to Ramos’ Vista home and surrounded it. After attempts to contact the suspect failed, a sheriff’s SWAT team entered the residence, finding it unoccupied.
“During a search of Ramos’ home, deputies located the metal chain used in the attack, ammunition, an empty handgun holster and a rifle scope,” McMasters said.
Ramos is a 5-foot-5-inch, roughly 150-pound Latino with black hair, brown eyes and tattoos all over his body, including on his face, neck and scalp.
“At this time, Ramos is still at large and believed to be armed with an unknown type of firearm,”  McMasters said Monday afternoon. “There is probable cause to arrest Ramos for domestic battery, assault with a deadly weapon and being a felon in possession of ammunition.”
Anyone spotting the suspect is urged to avoid approaching him and to immediately call 911.