Buncombe County jail gunfight suspect has court date: What happened?
ASHEVILLE – In a July 19 Buncombe County District Court hearing for a man charged with multiple offenses related to allegedly shooting a law enforcement officer in the county jail’s lobby, District Court Judge Julie Kepple waived probable cause.
This means the rest of Ricky Ryan Houston’s charges have been taken out of District Court and will potentially be indicted to Superior Court, depending on what the District Attorney's office decides to do.
“(After it’s waived) the DA’s office can do whatever they want to do. They can indict all of them, they can indict some of them, they could dismiss all of them,” Houston’s lawyer, Thomas Amburgey, told the Citizen Times July 19, adding that the DA has already indicted the most serious charges, including attempted murder.
Houston, 40, was arrested May 10 and charged with attempted first-degree murder and assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm. Houston was indicted for these charges June 5, which have been heard in Superior Court. Houston was also charged with multiple other offenses, which have now been taken out of District Court following the July 19 hearing, including:
Assault causing serious bodily injury
Two counts of communicating threats
Breaking and entering to terrorize or injure
Injury to personal property
Possessing stolen firearm
Breaking and entering, and larceny after breaking and entering
Larceny of a firearm
Three counts of misdemeanor child abuse
Instead of keeping up with court dates in two different courts, this consolidates the charges into one court, Amburgey said. Houston’s next court date for attempted murder and assault on an officer is set for July 31. His court date on the other charges has not yet been set.
The Citizen Times reached out for comment to Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams, who said he is "obligated to refrain from comment on matters pending before the court."
Man shot in jail gunfight: Man shot in jail gunfight with deputy, Asheville police out of hospital; court date set
Authorities say Houston walked into the lobby of the Buncombe County Detention Center at 20 Davidson Drive, at about 1:40 a.m. May 7, and when Buncombe County Sheriff’s Deputy William Johnston and the APD officer approached to arrest him, he "resisted arrest and an altercation ensued," according to a Sheriff's Office news release.
A Citizen Times public records request revealed the name of the APD officer is Megan Hansford.
Houston produced a firearm and shot Johnston in the shoulder. Johnston returned fire and struck Houston, who fled and was later taken into custody outside the Mission Hospital. Hansford was also assaulted, though not with a gun, according to the news release.
Houston was in the hospital for at least two weeks after the encounter. When asked what injuries Houston sustained and where on his body and how many times he had been shot, Sheriff's Office spokesperson Aaron Sarver cited HIPPA as a reason he could not release the information. However, HIPPA only applies to medical providers and health insurance companies, not to law enforcement agencies.
Once released from the hospital, Houston was transferred to the jail, where he remains in custody under a $1.6 million bond.
Johnston was placed on administrative leave while recovering from a bullet wound to the shoulder, as last reported by Sarver. He did not immediately respond to a question asking whether Johnston was back from administrative leave.
Hansford, the APD officer, sustained injuries that did not require medical attention and was also placed on administrative leave, APD spokesperson Samantha Booth previously said.
APD Capt. Joe Silberman did not immediately respond to a question on whether Hansford had returned from administrative leave.
Wounded deputy named: Wounded deputy named in police shooting near jail in downtown Asheville; AR-15 taken
An incident report obtained by the Citizen Times lists a "handgun" as used by Houston to shoot Johnston. A rifle described as an “Anderson/AM-15,” a type of AR-15 semiautomatic weapon, according to Gun Digest, is listed under evidence farther down in the report.
The State Bureau of Investigation opened a probe into the shooting. The Citizen Times reached out to SBI spokesperson Anjanette Grube July 19 about the investigation’s status.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. News tips? Email Ryley at rober@gannett.com. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe jail alleged gunfight suspect's case leaves District Court
