Houser
VAN WERT — Judge Martin Burchfield of the Van Wert Common Pleas Court denied all but one motion to suppress Tuesday in a case for a Rockford man charged with the murder of a Van Wert resident.
Burchfield denied the motion to suppress any statements Ryan Houser, 38, made to police during September of 2023 and found Houser was advised of his rights before an interview at the Van Wert Police Department; at his home before an interview at the Rockford Police Department and at the time of his arrest by Van Wert police on a warrant from Mercer County.
In one September incident, officers’ body camera data were available to review when they went to Houser’s house to retrieve a cell phone for evidence. Based on these recordings, Burchfield found Houser was not read his Miranda rights but gave a voluntary interview on his front porch. Officers were recorded telling him he didn’t have to answer any questions and could stop the interview. Burchfield found the video evidence lined up with the testimony of the Van Wert detectives.
Houser volunteered to give up his cell phone that day and was recorded informing his mother that the victim had been shot without prompting by any of the officers present.
“Those that did not include a Miranda advisement were non-custodial without intimidation and at the defendant’s residence,” Burchfield wrote about Houser’s interactions with police in September.
However, Burchfield granted the motion to suppress the statements made during an interview with Van Wert detectives at the Mercer County Jail in October because he was not formally advised of his Miranda rights. This interview will no longer be able to be used as evidence by the prosecution.
“The Oct. 19, 2023, interview at the Mercer County Jail was a custodial interrogation and required a Miranda advisement,” Burchfield wrote. “Merely telling the defendant he was free to leave or terminate the interview is not enough. It is not relevant that he was detained on separate charges.”
Houser was indicted on four counts: aggravated murder, murder, tampering with evidence and having weapons while under disability.
The charges stem from the death of Barbara Ganger, 43, at the Van Wert West Apartments. Van Wert police were dispatched to the apartment complex on Sept. 4, 2023, for a welfare check on Ganger. Officers made entry into the apartment and found the woman dead on the floor. During the investigation it was discovered Ganger was shot once in the stomach area and once in the eye.
Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.
