TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona's former prisons chief has been indicted by a grand jury for offenses allegedly committed during a standoff with Tempe police in January.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced Friday that Charles Ryan had been indicted for disorderly conduct and unlawful discharge of a weapon, both Class 6 felonies.
"A thorough review of this case was conducted by experienced prosecutors in this office. I want to assure this community that a person’s occupation, race, age, or other such factors of this nature do not influence charges that are sought by this office,” Mitchell said in a statement.
Both charges are the lowest-level felony but are classified in Ryan's case as dangerous offenses. If convicted, Ryan would face a mandatory prison term.
The offenses are related to an hours-long police standoff that took place at Ryan's home on the night of Jan. 6, 2022.
The police report on the standoff said one officer was advised that Ryan's wife said "Charles is a heavy alcoholic drinker and has been drinking all day and had gotten worse since he had retired."
"He has been consuming a half bottle of tequila regularly at night for the past two years," Ryan's wife told police.
Officers noted that Ryan seemed "dazed and confused" and couldn't or wouldn't answer questions about what had happened.
The standoff ended peacefully at 1 a.m. Jan. 7. Ryan's wife and his 32-year-old daughter, who lives at the home, were unharmed.
Ryan was never booked into jail after eventually surrendering to police and being taken to the hospital. Police seized about 15 guns from his home.
Ryan retired as Arizona corrections director in 2019 after a scathing report accused him of ignoring persistent problems with broken prison cell locks that put both corrections officers and inmates at risk.
RELATED: Former Arizona corrections director injures self, points gun at Tempe officers during standoff
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