Former Arizona prison warden Charles Ryan has pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct charges stemming from a 2022 incident in which police say he fired a gun inside his Tempe home and pointed the weapon at two police officers. He entered no plea and is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.
The plea agreement for Ryan, who retired as corrections director in September 2019, calls for a suspended sentence and to pay Tempe police $8,500 in investigation costs. This crime carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
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On January 6, 2022, police were called to Ryan's home on a report that Ryan had shot himself in the hand. Police later determined that the injury to Ryan's hand was caused by a less-lethal projectile fired by police after Ryan pointed a handgun at the officer. The projectile was discovered during surgery.
Retired Arizona Department of Corrections Officer Charles Ryan is pictured here after pleading no contest to disorderly conduct charges in a plea deal in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix on November 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool, File)
Ryan was also shot and injured before police arrived. It appears that the bullet hit the bathroom sink, causing porcelain shards to fly out, causing a cut on his forehead.
According to a police report, Ryan had drunk about half a bottle of tequila when officers arrived at the home. Police said the man had slurred speech and was hostile towards negotiators and did not know why officers were there or what happened to his injured hand.
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Ryan told police he did not remember pointing the gun at the officers. He admitted to drinking tequila that night, but he said he had only had two shots.
