Ramey testifies Likes was alive when she left; then she heard more shots as she drove away

GALESBURG — Maquesha Ramey testified Wednesday that she did not know Rachel Likes would be outside Michael Hubbard’s house Jan. 4, 2021. Ramey said that after she arrived in her Chevrolet Malibu, she got in an argument with Hubbard and picked up the firearm that was sitting on her passenger seat.

“The gun went off at least three or four times when he grabbed it out of my hand,” Ramey said about Hubbard.

When First Assistant Public Defender Daniel O’Brian asked her if she knew who pulled the trigger, Ramey answered, “I could’ve pulled it. Michael could’ve pulled it.”

Ramey said she then drove away from the scene and heard other gunshots.

Previous testimony: Murder trial: Detective says Ramey changed story about what happened

Police found Likes shot multiple times in her vehicle outside 343 W. 1st St at approximately 5 p.m. that day. Likes was pronounced dead at 5:28 p.m. in the emergency room at Galesburg Cottage Hospital.

Ramey was the first witness called by the defense Wednesday on the fourth day of her trial. Ramey is accused of shooting and killing Likes and faces three counts of first degree murder. Circuit Judge Richard H. Gambrell is presiding.

According to court filings, Knox County State’s Attorney Jeremy S. Karlin has indicated his intention to seek a natural life sentence should Ramey be found guilty. The minimum possible penalty is 45 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, of which Ramey would be required to serve 100% of the sentence.

Trial connection: Wig, Glock 45, spent shells, ammo found in ditch near Soangetaha

Ramey’s testimony: leading up to the shooting

Ramey testified that she arrived home in Galesburg around 1:50 on the day of the shooting, after visiting family in Mississippi. Ramey said that she and Hubbard had gotten in a big argument before she left and that she tried to ease her tension in Mississippi by partying with some friends and family.

“I was drinking, I was popping ecstasy pills, I was doing coke (cocaine),” Ramey said. “I was on edge about my relationship.”

Ramey said it was unclear to her at that point whether her relationship with Hubbard was over. Ramey said the two had previously obtained the proper documents for marriage but had not turned them in yet.

Ramey said it was in Mississippi that she obtained a Glock pistol from a friend, for the purposes of helping him sell it. Ramey said the pistol was in her car when she left Mississippi at midnight on Jan. 3, 2021, and drove the 12 hours home without sleeping.

“I was emotional. I was listening to love songs,” Ramey said about her drive back.

Testimony: Ramey buys wig, drives to Hubbard's house

When Ramey arrived in Galesburg, she said the first thing she did was go to a hair salon, where she purchased a new wig. Ramey confirmed she then drove home around 12:50 p.m., as corroborated by the camera footage that captured her car outside 1074 W. South St. at that time.

Ramey said it was three to four hours later when she had finished installing her wig. Ramey said she then decided to drive to Hubbard’s house to drop off some of Hubbard’s mail and retrieve some clothes she had left there.

Ramey said she left her two kids at home before driving to Hubbard’s house. Her third child had remained in Mississippi.

Ramey said that she did not know Hubbard or Likes would be at 343 W. 1st St. Ramey also said that she did not drive there with the intention of hurting or confronting anyone.

Testimony: Ramey bought, snorted cocaine, returned to Hubbard's

When Ramey arrived at Hubbard’s house, she testified that no one was there. Ramey said she then stopped at a McDonalds and a liquor store. Ramey testified that she encountered her cocaine dealer in the parking lot outside the liquor store and decided to buy some cocaine.

“I snorted two lines (of cocaine) in my car by myself,” Ramey testified, before she returned to Hubbard’s address.

Ramey said she encountered Likes outside Hubbard’s house, seated in her Chevrolet Impala. Ramey said that Likes told her she was Hubbard’s girlfriend.

“I asked her how was she his girlfriend if I was his wife,” Ramey testified.

Murder trial testimony: Prosecutors: Maquesha Ramey shot Rachel Likes multiple times in ex-boyfriend's driveway

Ramey: Hubbard scuffled with her for gun

It was around then, Ramey said, that Hubbard arrived and the two began arguing. Ramey said that after she picked up the Glock on her passenger seat, Hubbard tried to grab the firearm out of her hand. She said that while they wrestled over the gun, Hubbard grabbed the wig off of her head and the gun fired a number of times.

Ramey said that she did not know that Likes had been shot.

“When I left the scene, Rachel Likes was alive,” Ramey told the court.

Ramey said that she heard more gunshots while she was driving away from Hubbard’s house and believed that Hubbard had been shooting at her.

Ramey said she did not drive straight home because she was afraid that Hubbard or one of his friends were after her.

“Michael had just shot at me and I didn’t know if he was going to come to my residence,” Ramey said.

At one point, Ramey said one of Hubbard’s friends did locate her, which she said would have been possible because the two used a Chevrolet mobile app that provided a geo-location of her car.

“I observed him pick up most of the shell casings out of my car,” Ramey said, in reference to her Chevrolet Malibu.

Ramey said that she then ran home and got into her Ford Explorer, before abandoning that vehicle too. She said she then got picked up by a friend and drove around.

By the time Ramey turned herself in to police on Jan. 4, 2021, Ramey said she was panicked and afraid.

“I had a lot going on in my head and I didn’t know exactly what happened,” Ramey said.

Murder trial begins: First degree murder trial over killing of Rachel Likes begins in Knox County

The prosecution questions Ramey

Ramey confirmed that she did not mention obtaining a gun in Mississippi or wrestling over the gun with Hubbard when she was interviewed by detectives the evening of Jan. 4, 2021.

Ramey said she called the police after she had abandoned her Chevrolet Malibu and her Ford Explorer. It was during this phone call that she told police she was not in Galesburg at that time and was still returning from Mississippi.

Karlin asked Ramey if she told the police this in order to impede their investigation.

“I don’t know what it was for,” Ramey said in reference to the phone call. “I was all over the place.”

Ramey acknowledged that she has told multiple different stories of where she was and what she did on Jan. 4, 2021.

“I didn’t know if I should tell the truth,” Ramey said. “I didn’t know to what extent I could trust the Galesburg police department.”

Karlin asked Ramey if she had thought it was OK to lie to the police.

“Yes, I did think it was OK to lie about it,” Ramey answered.

Closing arguments will began Thursday at the Knox County Courthouse.

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Defendant Maquesha Ramey says gun went off when boyfriend grabbed it