Former Ranlo police officer guilty in fatal shooting

A former Ranlo police officer was convicted this week of shooting and killing another man during a fight at the man's home in early 2023.

Kwaku "Riley" Agyapon, 35, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of 33-year-old Juan Nikely Avalo, who he shot during an encounter at Avalo's home on Burlington Avenue in Ranlo in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2023.

He was originally charged with first-degree murder.

The conflict between the two men stemmed from an earlier meeting in which Avalo was accused of assaulting his partner, Krystal Ortiz, said Assistant District Attorney Debbie Gulledge.

Agyapon first came into contact with Ortiz on Nov. 28, 2022, when Ortiz called police and said Avalo had assaulted her. Agyapon was one of the Ranlo Police Department officers who responded to the call, and afterward, he gave Ortiz his phone number so that he could help her access community resources and answer questions about the legal process, Gulledge said.

The two communicated in the days after the assault, but Ortiz and Avalo reconciled, despite Avalo's arrest, and the two continued living together.

In the late night hours of Dec. 31, 2022, Avalo realized that Ortiz had Agyapon's number in her phone and began to question her about who Agyapon was, Gulledge said.

He called Agyapon three times, and Agyapon called him back, exchanging "fighting words" with Avalo, Gulledge said.

The two agreed to meet at a QT gas station to fight, and both showed up, but they missed each other.

"So one showed up first and left. The second one showed up," Gulledge said.

Avalo told Agyapon something like, "you know where I live. You know where to find me," Gulledge said.

"After that comment was made, this defendant drove to the Burlington Avenue home of Mr. Avalo and Ms. Ortiz," she added.

Agyapon, who was off duty, parked in the road and got out of his vehicle. He and Avalo argued, and Ortiz tried to intervene.

A neighbor came outside and said she was going to call the police, and Agyapon told her to call, Gulledge said.

Avalo got in his vehicle, drove to the top of the driveway, and got out of his car with "something" that Ortiz didn't initially recognize as a weapon, Gulledge said.

Avalo and Agyapon began to fight, and Avalo stabbed Agyapon multiple times.

Ortiz and Avalo's children were present, one of them inside the home and one of them outside, Gulledge said, and Ortiz went to check on the children.

Avalo began to run toward the back of the home. Agyapon later told police that when Avalo was stabbing him and began to retreat, "he said something about, 'see what I can do to the kids next,'" Gulledge said.

Agyapon pulled out his service weapon and shot Avalo in the back of the head, killing him.

Agyapon was hospitalized for several days to receive treatment for his stab wounds. He was fired from the Ranlo Police Department, where he had worked since August 2022. As part of his plea deal, he permanently surrendered his law enforcement certification.

Speaking in Spanish with the aid of a translator in court, Avalo's mother, Violeta Avalo, asked for justice for her son.

"He's taken half of my life and half of my heart," she said of Agyapon. "He was my boy, and he had a son. For me he was the best in the world."

Nora Carradro, Ortiz's mother, also spoke, saying that Agyapon left Avalo's children fatherless.

"He took a father, a son, a husband away," she said. "He had a choice, and he chose to go out there and take (Avalo's) life … He took the law in his own hands."

Agyapon's attorney, Gael Gilles, said that Agyapon has four children, two sons and two daughters, and that he worked at Ranlo Police Department, Gastonia Police Department and as a corrections officer.

He added that Agyapon is supported by his family and has no previous criminal record.

Agyapon spent 520 days in jail prior to his plea hearing.

Superior Court Judge David Phillips sentenced Agyapon to approximately five to seven years in prison.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Former Ranlo police officer guilty in fatal shooting