GREENVILLE — Ryan Monahan, accused of shooting a teen girl in the neck following a June 2017 altercation in Greenville, was found guilty on one count of aggravated assault, and not guilty on all other counts Monday afternoon in Darke County Common Pleas Court.
Announcing the verdict four days after the end of a two-day bench trial, Judge Jonathan P. Hein found the 19-year-old Greenville resident not guilty of four counts of felonious assault, all second-degree felonies, and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.
However, despite the dropping of the felonious assault charge to aggravated assault, a fourth-degree felony, Monahan still faces a mandatory three years in prison on the firearm specification. He could face up to an additional 18 months in prison on the aggravated assault charge.
Monahan was accused of shooting a semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle at a pickup truck outside his Greenville home June 9, 2017, striking a teen girl in the neck. The four teens in the truck admitted driving to his home and exchanging threats by phone with the defendant before the incident took place.
Monahan appeared emotionless as the verdict was read. Afterwards, his defense attorney, Dave Rohrer, called it a “tough case” and stood by his assertion that the victim could not have been shot in the manner as presented by the prosecution based upon where she was sitting in the truck.
“I just don’t believe the shot that went through the back windshield was fired by a .22-caliber rifle, that struck her on that side,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll know exactly what happened.”
Monahan, currently free on his own recognizance, is scheduled to be sentenced March 15.
