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Willcox man arrested after Bonita shooting
By Jon Johnson/Wick Communications
A husband and wife in Bonita are sleeping easier these days with the knowledge that the man who allegedly terrorized them is behind bars and will be tried in Superior Court.
The trouble began around 6:30 p.m. on July 8 when an apparently inebriated ex-Marine, Michael Dennis Riley, 57, of Willcox entered the victims' travel trailer in Bonita and threatened to kill them.
After being released from a Veterans Administration hospital in Tucson, Riley was booked into the Graham County Jail on July 17. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct with a weapon and criminal damage.
Riley appeared before Justice of the Peace Judge Dewey Bryce for his preliminary hearing Wednesday. Judge Bryce bound Riley over to Superior Court on all charges and set his arraignment for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
According to a Graham County Sheriff's report, the victims said Riley believed they were cheating him out of money from his house and land in Tucson. The victims said they were just helping him with interim financing.
Riley allegedly cursed at the two and held a .357 handgun to the female victim's head. The phone then rang, and the victim stated it distracted Riley enough that she was able to deflect the gun as it went off. The bullet hit a microwave and wall before ricocheting around and finally landing on the kitchen table cushion. According to the report, Riley then pointed the gun at the male victim's head before lowering it and shooting another round into the floor. Riley told the victims he was going to come back and kill them later and shot off four more rounds into the ground outside their residence, according to the police report. The victims stated Riley went into his motor home, retrieved a box of ammunition and left in his 2000 Jeep Cherokee.
Graham County Deputy Mike Wear collected evidence at the scene and called in an attempt to locate on Riley. He found two spent bullets and photographed damage caused by the bullets inside the residence and marks made in the ground outside. Despite efforts to locate Riley, he could not immediately be found. A deputy was placed in the area overnight in the event he returned.
A friend of Riley's contacted deputy Wear on July 13 and advised him Riley had voluntarily checked himself into a Veterans Admini-stration hospital in Tucson for evaluation. Wear called the VA and was informed Riley had checked in July 11.
He was told the doctor requested additional treatments for Riley, who may have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Upon his release from the hospital, Riley was turned over to Graham County authorities.
Jon Johnson is the assistant editor at the Eastern Arizona Courier in Safford.
The trouble began around 6:30 p.m. on July 8 when an apparently inebriated ex-Marine, Michael Dennis Riley, 57, of Willcox entered the victims' travel trailer in Bonita and threatened to kill them.
After being released from a Veterans Administration hospital in Tucson, Riley was booked into the Graham County Jail on July 17. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct with a weapon and criminal damage.
Riley appeared before Justice of the Peace Judge Dewey Bryce for his preliminary hearing Wednesday. Judge Bryce bound Riley over to Superior Court on all charges and set his arraignment for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
According to a Graham County Sheriff's report, the victims said Riley believed they were cheating him out of money from his house and land in Tucson. The victims said they were just helping him with interim financing.
Riley allegedly cursed at the two and held a .357 handgun to the female victim's head. The phone then rang, and the victim stated it distracted Riley enough that she was able to deflect the gun as it went off. The bullet hit a microwave and wall before ricocheting around and finally landing on the kitchen table cushion. According to the report, Riley then pointed the gun at the male victim's head before lowering it and shooting another round into the floor. Riley told the victims he was going to come back and kill them later and shot off four more rounds into the ground outside their residence, according to the police report. The victims stated Riley went into his motor home, retrieved a box of ammunition and left in his 2000 Jeep Cherokee.
Graham County Deputy Mike Wear collected evidence at the scene and called in an attempt to locate on Riley. He found two spent bullets and photographed damage caused by the bullets inside the residence and marks made in the ground outside. Despite efforts to locate Riley, he could not immediately be found. A deputy was placed in the area overnight in the event he returned.
A friend of Riley's contacted deputy Wear on July 13 and advised him Riley had voluntarily checked himself into a Veterans Admini-stration hospital in Tucson for evaluation. Wear called the VA and was informed Riley had checked in July 11.
He was told the doctor requested additional treatments for Riley, who may have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Upon his release from the hospital, Riley was turned over to Graham County authorities.
Jon Johnson is the assistant editor at the Eastern Arizona Courier in Safford.
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