Fake corrections officers held 3 at gunpoint in Tacoma attempted kidnapping, charges say

Three people were held at gunpoint in June in a Tacoma home after men in ballistic vests knocked on their door and claimed to have a warrant for a resident while purporting to be from the Department of Corrections, according to charging documents filed Wednesday.

The man the fake DOC officers were allegedly there for told investigators he believed it was an attempted kidnapping. Court records allege a suspect now charged in the June 11 incident, Christopher Ryon Medley, threatened to shoot him and shocked him with a Taser.

Medley, 39, does not work for DOC. According to Pierce County Superior Court records, he is unemployed and has been tied to two other burglaries in Tacoma since June 11 where firearms, BB guns and 15,000 rounds of assorted ammunition were stolen. Medley was arrested at the scene of a June 14 burglary, but court records show he was released on his personal recognizance after spending a weekend in jail.

He was arrested again in the early hours of Tuesday morning after a welfare check was called in just after midnight for a black Chevy Tahoe blocking eastbound traffic in Puyallup on West Pioneer Avenue near 5th Street West.

According to charging documents, Puyallup Police Department officers found Medley slumped over in the driver’s seat with his foot on the brake, a loaded pistol in his lap and a 2-year-old boy buckled into the front passenger’s seat.

Multiple patrol cars blocked the Tahoe in. Officers removed the child from the vehicle and the gun from Medley’s hand before he woke up and was taken into custody. Records state the child, identified as Medley’s son, was placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.

Medley was arraigned Wednesday in the June 11 burglary where he and another man allegedly claimed to be corrections officials and wore vests with DOC markings. Court records show Medley pleaded not guilty to first-degree criminal impersonation, first-degree burglary, attempted first-degree kidnapping, two counts of unlawful imprisonment and third-degree assault.

Superior Court Commissioner Philip Thornton set Medley’s bail at $300,000. A defense attorney does not yet appear to have been assigned to the case. An attorney from the Department of Assigned Counsel is representing Medley in a separate residential burglary case. He did not respond to a request for comment.

A Tacoma Police Department spokesperson said Thursday that an investigation is ongoing, and a second suspect described in charging documents has not been arrested.

Medley has criminal history in Washington and New Mexico, according to court records. He was convicted of DUI, a gross misdemeanor, in 2015 in King County and reckless driving, a gross misdemeanor, in 2018 in Pierce County.

Fake DOC officers knock at South Tacoma home

The June 11 incident occurred in South Tacoma in the 6200 block of South Fife Street. A resident there reportedly told police he answered his front door at about 12:10 p.m. when a heavy-set man and a skinnier man, later identified as Medley, knocked on his door. The two forced their way inside and stated they had a warrant for another male resident.

The man who answered the door demanded to see the warrant and said he was going to call 911. Then, Medley allegedly produced a pistol, pointed it at him and said something to the effect of, “Sit down or I’ll shoot you.”

Medley reportedly held the pistol in one hand and a Taser in the other. A witness told police Medley tried to get the man they claimed to have a warrant for to leave with them and intimidated him by shocking him with the Taser. The witness told police he threw a bottle at Medley, and the other suspect allegedly fired a gunshot into the floor.

That suspect then went into the resident’s bedroom “for a few seconds” while Medley allegedly held the home’s three residents at gunpoint, according to court records. After exiting the bedroom, the suspect reportedly told Medley they were leaving, and they drove away in a black Tahoe.

The man who was shocked with the Taser later told police he believed the suspects wanted to kidnap him. Records state he told a detective he was not under the supervision of DOC, so there would be no reason for an officer to contact him. He confirmed nothing was stolen. Asked who might have done it, he reportedly said it might have been an old roommate, who investigators said was related to Medley.

A third resident told police she was ordered to sit on the couch when the suspects rushed in. She reportedly said the suspects produced realistic-looking handguns, but they only made “popping” noises when the triggers were pulled. Records state officers did find a bullet strike in the center of the room and a shell casing on a nearby couch.

Antique rifle, stolen revolver found in Tahoe

When Medley was arrested in Puyallup on Tuesday, police found multiple firearms in his Tahoe, some of which were connected to a June 23 residential burglary at a house in Eastside Tacoma.

In that case, a man reported to Tacoma police that his back door was ajar when he got home, and he discovered that his safe was missing. It reportedly contained a black-powder antique revolver, an antique rifle, a Ruger Wrangler revolver and 15,000 rounds of assorted ammunition.

Medley does not appear to have been charged in that burglary, but the Ruger Wrangler revolver and the antique rifle were found in his Tahoe when he was arrested Tuesday. Puyallup Police Department spokesperson Capt. Jason Visnaw said the antique rifle was a Marlin. He said officers did not recover the large amount of ammunition reportedly stolen with the safe. According to court records, Medley lives less than a half-mile from where the June 23 burglary occurred.

Another long gun was found under a blanket in the back of the Tahoe, according to court records, and a Taser was found in the driver’s seat. The loaded pistol found in Medley’s lap, a 9 mm handgun, had the serial number scratched off.

Based on the arrest, prosecutors charged Medley in a separate case July 31 with unlawful possession of an undetectable firearm, unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle and reckless endangerment. Court records show he pleaded not guilty to those charges Wednesday.

A stolen firearm has allegedly been found in Medley’s Tahoe before. According to court records, he was arrested June 14 after Tacoma police responded to a report of a person seen on a Ring doorbell entering a neighbor’s home.

Medley was questioned at the scene, and he denied entering the residence, records state. A couple of BB guns were in the house’s yard, and Medley was placed in cuffs after he allegedly admitted that the BB guns had been inside the house.

His Tahoe was towed from a nearby alley, and a tow inventory search recorded four BB gun pistols, three magazines, a firearm part, four firearm magazines and a box of ammo. A loaded 9 mm handgun was found under the driver’s seat that was reported stolen out of Tacoma.

After the stolen firearm was found, the Tahoe was reportedly sealed with evidence tape and brought to a secured tow lot. It’s unclear when the vehicle was released to Medley. Records state it was registered in his name.