Man who shot toward IMPD officers convicted on 2 counts of attempted murder
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A man who was in a standoff with police 10 months ago from his home on the southwest side was convicted Friday of two counts of attempted murder.
Ryan Ridner also was convicted in Marion Superior Court 31 on a count of criminal recklessness.
On the afternoon of Aug. 25, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were sent to check on the welfare of Ridner at his home in the 5500 block of Dollar Hide North Drive. That’s in the Valley Mills subdivision, which is southeast of the intersection of South High School Road and West Thompson Road.
Ridner’s mother had called 911 over concern’s about her 33-year-old son’s well-being. According to the probable cause affidavit, she noted that he had recently lost his job, had been drinking, and had access to guns. She was concerned that he was suicidal.
When police arrived at his home, Ridner walked down the stairs and to the glass front door where two officers were standing. The officers saw Ridner holding a handgun in his right hand; they backed away from the door and into the front yard.
Ridner opened the glass door and leaned out of the doorframe. One of the officers told Ridner to put the gun down. Ridner put the pistol on the concrete porch directly in front of him.
The officers asked him to step down from the porch, away from the pistol, so they could speak to him.
“No. Now why would I do that?” Ridner said, according to court documents.
He picked the pistol up off the ground and went back into the house.
After going back into his home, Ridner went upstairs to a bedroom where his long guns were kept. He left the pistol that was previously in his hand in the bedroom and grabbed a hunting rifle.
He fired two rounds at the officers through a closed window’s glass.
Officers took cover behind a truck parked in a nearby driveway.
An IMPD special weapons and tactics team came to the house with armored vehicles and a negotiator. Ridner was arrested, and no one was injured.
Ridner waived his right to a jury trial and had Judge Jeffrey L. Marchal determine the outcome in a bench trial. In addition to the conviction, the judge also found Ridner not guilty of a count of resisting law enforcement by drawing a weapon.
A sentencing hearing was set for 9:30 a.m. July 13.
News 8’s Kyla Russell provided earlier reporting used in this story.
Mental health resources
- Be Well Indiana
- Indiana Suicide Prevention
- Indiana Department of Child Services’ Children’s Mental Health Initiative
- National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988 or 800-273-8255
- More resources
