Durham man sent to federal prison was involved in courthouse shooting, prosecutor says
Authorities say a Durham man sentenced to prison last week was involved in a 2019 shooting between gang members that began after an argument at a Durham courthouse.
Ryan Richmond, 25, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison with three years of supervised release. Richmond pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Richmond had previously been convicted of three felonies. A news release from Matthew G.T. Martin, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, says he is a gang member whose firearms and ammunition were recovered in an investigation of the shooting.
On Dec. 3, 2019, members of two gangs were set to appear in court when an argument began, according to the news release. After the argument, four men, including Richmond, got into a stolen car and were shot at from another car. The two cars chased each other, exchanging gunfire. Richmond and those in the stolen car pulled into a church parking lot and walked away from the car. Police found the vehicle with the windows shot out and recovered four firearms from the parking lot, the news release said.
The incident was the second shooting outside the courthouse in 2019, The News & Observer previously reported.
A record number of 318 people were shot in Durham in 2020, compared to 189 people shot in 2019, according to preliminary data released by the Durham Police Department and reported on by The N&O.
Second Durham man sentenced
In a separate case, Durham resident Rashaad Cox, 34, was sentenced to nine years and seven months in prison, with three years of supervised release.
Cox pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, Martin said in the news release.
In June 2019, Cox and a passenger were stopped by detectives with the Durham County Sheriff’s Office. Martin said Cox fled the scene and was apprehended after a high-speed chase, and detectives found a fanny pack with oxycodone and MDMA pills, along with a handgun, near where Cox crashed his vehicle.
Six weeks later, officers conducted a warrantless search and probation check at Cox’s home, where they seized six firearms, twelve magazines of ammunition (four with extended capacity), and 647 rounds of ammunition, according to the release.
