Retired Arizona prisons chief takes plea deal after armed standoff with police

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Former Arizona prisons chief Charles Ryan is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday after pleading no contest to a disorderly conduct charge stemming from when police say he fired a gun inside his Tempe home and pointed a firearm at two officers during a three-hour standoff in 2022.

The plea agreement for Ryan, who retired as corrections director in September 2019, calls for a sentence of probation and an $8,500 payment to cover the Tempe Police Department’s costs in conducting the investigation. The offense carries a maximum sentence of up to two years in prison.

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Police were called to Ryan’s house Jan. 6, 2022, on a report that he had shot himself in the hand. It was later revealed by police that the hand injury was caused by a less-than-lethal projectile fired by police after Ryan pointed a handgun at officers. They say the projectile was found during surgery.

Charles Ryan, retired Arizona Corrections Director, is seen here after pleading no contest to a disorderly conduct charge in a plea agreement at Maricopa County Superior Court, Nov. 14, 2023, in Phoenix.  (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool, File)

Ryan also was injured when he fired his gun before police arrived. He apparently suffered a cut to the forehead after a bullet hit a bathroom sink and sent a splinter of porcelain flying.

Police reports say Ryan had consumed half a bottle of tequila when officers arrived at his property. Police say he slurred his words, was antagonistic toward a negotiator and did not know why officers were there or what had happened to his injured hand.

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Ryan told police he didn’t remember pointing a gun at officers. He acknowledged drinking tequila that evening, though he said he had just two shots.