According to the police, the man with a tactical weapon shut down the parking lot gates before attempting to reenter the church with a hundred people inside. He may have wanted to shoot those inside, according to a man who persuaded him to drop the gun.
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Russell Alan Ragsdale Jr. is now facing a federal gun charge in connection to the 2022 fatal shooting of his old roommate in Seagoville.
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Ragsdale told police the shooting was self-defense, and his murder charge was dismissed.
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Ragsdale was only recently charged for the 2022 shooting when investigators searched through his old records after Nov. 2, 20024, when he tried to get into St. Augustine Catholic Church in Pleasant Grove with a tactical rifle. Parishioners locked the door, and he was not able to get in.
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If convicted, Ragsdale faces up to 15 years in prison.
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Russell Alan Ragsdale Jr. is now facing a federal gun charge in connection to the 2022 fatal shooting of his old roommate in Seagoville.
-
Ragsdale told police the shooting was self-defense, and his murder charge was dismissed.
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Ragsdale was only recently charged for the 2022 shooting when investigators searched through his old records after Nov. 2, 20024, when he tried to get into St. Augustine Catholic Church in Pleasant Grove with a tactical rifle. Parishioners locked the door, and he was not able to get in.
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If convicted, Ragsdale faces up to 15 years in prison.
DallasOnly weeks after members of a Dallas church barred the door to keep a man with a gun from entering, a federal court ordered him to stay in prison.
After searching through ancient documents, FBI agents charged the man in relation to a gunshot death in 2022.
He was not in arrest prior to those allegations, although authorities were keeping a tight eye on him.
According to police documents that FOX 4 was able to get, the shooter frequently visited the church where he attempted to enter with a tactical rifle.
According to recently acquired police and court documents, Russell Alan Ragsdale Jr. went up to the priest at Pleasant Grove’s St. Augustine Catholic Church on November 2, gave him a hug and a kiss on each cheek, and then handed him a note that read, “May peace be with you.”
Ragsdale allegedly then proceeded to his car, grabbed a tactical weapon, and put on a black and white poncho. According to the police, he shut the parking lot gates before attempting to reenter the church with a hundred people inside.
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However, a guy outside persuaded Ragsdale to drop the rifle on the ground until the police arrived, and parishioners shut the doors to prevent him from entering.
The man who persuaded Ragsdale to drop the gun thinks he could have intended to shoot people at the church, according to Dallas police records.
Police were informed by Ragsdale’s girlfriend that he was intoxicated and experiencing “emotional issues.”
In 2022, Ragsdale was accused with the murder of his roommate in Seagoville, but federal investigators found that he was actually charged with minor disorderly conduct.
Ragsdale argued that the shooting was self-defense, thus the murder prosecution was dropped.
Police in Seagoville confiscated a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol at that time. According to federal investigators looking through his phone, there is proof that he used drugs in 2021 and that he bought and consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms in the hours leading up to the deadly shooting in 2022. He faces a felony accusation of unlawfully possessing a handgun while using a controlled drug.
Former Northern District of Texas U.S. attorney Richard Roper, who is not involved in the case, thinks it’s obvious that federal prosecutors see Ragsdale as a threat and are using their imagination to try to charge him with what they believe to be a valid offense.
“And I think they re trying to be innovative,” he stated.
Ragsdale may spend up to 15 years behind bars if found guilty.
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FOX 4 acquired information for this story from federal and police databases.
FOX 4 acquired information for this story from federal and police databases.
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