Robbery suspect in officer-involved shooting identified after multi-city chase ending in Dallas
Richardson Police shoot robbery suspect after lengthy chase
An attempted robbery suspect with a long criminal history was hospitalized after a chase and shootout with Richardson Police overnight on Thursday. FOX 4's Alex Boyer has more.
DALLAS - A 34-year-old man was hospitalized early Thursday after an armed robbery at a North Texas restaurant sparked a multi-city police chase and an exchange of gunfire with Richardson officers, authorities said.
Aggravated robbery
Video from restaurant security cameras captured the suspect in an SUV attempting to rob people as they waiting for a food order.
What we know:
According to The Colony Police Department, the incident began Wednesday at 11:23 p.m. when officers responded to a reported aggravated robbery. Investigators said Ryan Edward Drouin displayed a firearm, demanded money from a group of people, and left the scene in a black Jeep.
Officers obtained the Jeep's license plate number from area surveillance footage and entered it into the department's Flock Safety license plate reader system. The system detected the vehicle heading toward Plano, prompting officers to coordinate with neighboring departments. Police also learned the Jeep was linked to an earlier, separate incident in Carrollton.
Using the automated license plate readers, police tracked the vehicle to Drouin’s father’s home in Plano. When officers tried to make contact, Drouin drove off in the Jeep, sparking an initial vehicle chase that was eventually terminated.
Robbery suspect shot in multi-city chase ending in Dallas
A robbery suspect was hospitalized following a high-speed chase and exchange of gunfire with police spanning The Colony, Plano, Richardson, and Dallas.
Plano police notified Richardson patrol units at 2:12 a.m. Thursday that they had lost sight of the suspect's vehicle near Custer Road and West Renner Road. Richardson officers found the Jeep a short time later and attempted a traffic stop. Drouin refused to pull over, initiating a second chase south across city lines into Dallas.
Officer-involved shooting
What we know:
About 100 evidence markers marked the scene of an officer-involved shooting in Dallas following a multi-city police chase.
During the chase, Drouin fired at pursuing Richardson officers, who returned fire, police said. The pursuit ended near Alpha Road and Hughes Lane in Dallas after the Jeep became disabled.
Officers took Drouin into custody at the scene, and Dallas Fire-Rescue personnel took him to a local hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound.
His current medical condition has not been released.
No police officers were injured in the shootout.
What they're saying:
Neighbors talked about hearing a large amount of gunfire.
"Next thing you know, we see cops coming left and right, sirens and stuff like that. At that point, we were making sure everyone was okay and nothing in the house was hit," said Jose Hernandez, who lives nearby. "We saw the ambulance, someone on the stretcher, stuff like that. It was a scary situation for sure."
FOX 4 also talked to a criminologist about the dangerous situation these officer quickly found themselves in.
"I've always called the law enforcement profession a hundred hours of boredom, one second of terror. And that's exactly what we see here. You have police officers that are filling out paperwork on a daily basis. They're going about their routine, daily activities, issuing citations, talking to people, helping out victims. And then, all of a sudden, they find themselves when they least expect it, chasing a bad guy and putting their lives on the line for the rest of us," said Dr. Alex delete Carmen.
Multi-agency investigation
Big picture view:
The investigation remains divided across multiple jurisdictions. The Colony Police Department is directing the primary aggravated robbery investigation stemming from the restaurant incident.
The Dallas Police Department is leading the investigation into the officer-involved shooting because the gunfire exchange and arrest happened within Dallas city limits. Officials confirmed that neither Plano nor Dallas police officers discharged weapons during the incident.
Druoin has a lengthy criminal history with previous arrests including making a terroristic threat, burglary, drug offenses. He's also been convicted of family violence assault in Collin County.
It's not yet clear what charges he's facing in this case.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Richardson and Plano police departments.