Ronald Ramsay is apparently just as fiery as his foul-mouthed brother Gordon, but the similarities between the Hell's Kitchen star and his closest kin end there.
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Ronald "spat and swore at reporters" last Thursday on the Indonesian resort island Bali during the first day of his trial for heroine possession, the U.K.'s Daily Express reported Friday. While 10 years in an Indonesian prison could be facing Ronald if convicted of possession, those found guilty of drug trafficking face an even stiffer sentence and are "routinely put to death," according to the Express.
"I will seek as short a sentence as possible... months," Ronald's defense lawyer Erwin Sire-gar told the Express.
The 39-year-old brother of the Hell's Kitchen star was found with 100 milligrams of heroine in his pocket when approached by police outside a Bali supermarket in February, the Express reported.
"The defendant had the heroin inside a red Marlboro packet," prosecutor Agung Kusumayasa Ciputra told the Express.
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While his brother may be a culinary king, rich restaurateur and reality television personality known on both sides of the Atlantic, Ronald's life has taken a different path.
Ronald, who works as a truck driver, reportedly began using heroine at the age of 24 and saw his habit worsen when he and Gordon's father passed away in 1999. In 2000 Ronald was placed on probation for stealing from a supermarket, according to the Express, which added just last year he was accused of "trashing" a room where he was staying in Taunton, Somerset as well as for leaving without paying the rent. A syringe and other drug paraphernalia were found on the property, the Express reported.
Sire-gar told the Express that Ronald will plead guilty to the heroin charges, and had letters from doctors saying he was a heroin addict and the drugs were for personal use.
"Please ask his brother Gordon to contact him. He needs his help," Sire-gar told the Express, adding Gordon has tried to help Ronald before by funding several stints in rehab as well as offering him into his home and providing him work at one of his restaurants.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio