An ex-convict with a decades-old past of violence and drug use who has been accused of killing a man and wounding five other victims in a series of shootings on Wednesday in Mesa, Arizona, appeared in court on Thursday. Arizona recently ranked as No. 1 in the country for felons to buy, sell, and traffic firearms.
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Ryan Giroux, 41, is charged with 35 criminal counts, including first- and second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, and kidnapping. He is being held in jail without bond for probation violation, Reuters reported.
Police and several other law enforcement agencies conducted an hours-long manhunt on Wednesday for a suspect who shot six people at multiple locations in Mesa. The spree began just before 9 a.m. local time. About four hours later, authorities took Giroux into custody. He was shot with a Taser, taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, then questioned late into the evening.
Giroux, who has the words “Skin Head” tattooed on his eyebrows, is a former Arizona Department of Corrections inmate. His criminal record dates back to 1993, and includes various convictions for aggravated assault, theft, and drug possession, according to records from the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Giroux was sentenced to seven years and six months behind bars in July 2007 for an attempt to commit aggravated assault, but was released in October 2013, according to the DOC.
The violence began Wednesday at 8:40 a.m. local time when a gunman shot three people — one fatally — inside the Tri City Inn on West Main Street in Mesa, according to police. The male victim died and two women were transported to the hospital with injuries. Police believe there was an argument inside one of the motel rooms before Giroux fired shots.
The gunman then fled the motel to a nearby restaurant, Bistro 13, located just outside the campus of East Valley Institute of Technology. He demanded an adult student hand over the keys to his car. When the student refused, the gunman allegedly shot him in the shoulder.
After the car hijack, the suspect left the restaurant in a gray Honda Accord and drove about two miles to South Dobson Road. There, he forced himself into an apartment complex and shot a fifth man during a failed robbery attempt.
The suspect then traveled to the nearby Villetta Apartments, where he shot and wounded a sixth victim. He then fled to a different set of condominiums.
Police launched a massive search in the general area of his last sighting. By early afternoon, Mesa SWAT team members located Giroux on the balcony of a vacant condominium. Tactical Team members attempted to take him into custody, but he was not compliant. Police used a Taser to take Giroux into custody.
As police escorted him to a vehicle, he wore a white biological evidence suit and his hands were shackled in front of him.









