After several hours of negotiations, State Police Troopers from Hastings arrested a man who had barricaded himself Wednesday night inside the Mobil Gas Station in Woodland where shots were fired. There were no reports of injuries.
The man was arraigned Thursday morning and identified as 48 year old Timothy Maloy Riddle. The Barry County Prosecutor's Office filed charges against Riddle including Felonious Assault, Fleeing & Eluding police, and Resisting & Obstucting an officer. Additional charges may be filed on behalf of multiple police agencies in the coming weeks.
Riddle was wanted in connection with several break-ins in Barry County and was believed to have stolen guns in his posession. He was spotted Wednesday by Hastings police who started chasing him and called in the Barry County Sheriff's Office to assist. The chase ended at the gas station on M-43 in Woodland where Riddle ran into the store with a stolen shotgun and barricaded himself inside. Other persons inside the gas station were able to flee.
The MSP Emergency Support Team was called in around 6:30pm. State Police said Riddle gave up and walked out of the station around 1:30 Thursday morning.
During the encounter, shots were fired by a Barry County deputy, resulting in no injuries. The Michigan State Police Wayland Post is investigating the officer-involved-shooting at the request of Barry County Sheriff’s Office.
Riddle's bond was set at $500,000. A probable cause conference is set for August 25th before Judge Michael Schipper.
Riddle has a long history of criminal activity. He was convicted when he was only 15 years old for the 1988 homicide of an 80 year old man near Detroit. Riddle received a mandatory life sentence for the killing, but was later re-sentenced after the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory life sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional. He was released from parole in 2019. Since then he has been arrested at least eight times for shoplifting, disturbing the peace, and larceny from a building.
MSP Wayland Post was assisted at the scene by Barry County Sheriff Department, Barry County Tac Team, Hastings Police Department, Ionia County Sheriff Department, and the Michigan State Police ES Team.
