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Man facing federal gun charge after church incident
Police say the man with a tactical rifle closed the gates to the parking lot before trying to re-enter the church while 100 people were inside. A man who talked him into dropping the weapon believes he may have wanted to shoot people inside.
DALLAS - A federal judge ordered a man to remain behind bars just weeks after parishioners of a Dallas church locked the door to prevent him from entering with a gun.
FBI agents dug through old records and charged the man in connection with a fatal 2022 shooting.
Until those charges, he was free from custody — but with police closely watching.
Police records obtained by FOX 4 reveal that the gunman regularly attended the church he tried to walk into with a tactical rifle.
In newly obtained police and court records, officials say Russell Alan Ragsdale Jr. approached the priest at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Pleasant Grove on November 2, embraced him and kissed him on both cheeks before giving him a note saying, "May peace be with you."
Then, Ragsdale allegedly went to his car, put on a black and white poncho and grabbed a tactical rifle. Police say he closed the gates to the parking lot before trying to re-enter the church while 100 people were inside.
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However, parishioners locked the doors to keep him from getting in, and a man outside convinced Ragsdale to put the rifle on the ground until police arrived.
According to Dallas police records, the man who talked Ragsdale into dropping the weapon believes he may have wanted to shoot people at the church.
Ragsdale’s girlfriend told police he was drunk and having "emotional issues."
Ragsdale was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, but federal investigators discovered he was charged with a 2022 murder of his roommate in Seagoville.
That murder charge was dismissed as Ragsdale claimed the shooting was self-defense.
At the time, Seagoville police seized a pistol, shotgun and a rifle. Now, federal investigators examining his phone say there’s evidence of a history of drug use dating back to 2021 and evidence of him purchasing and using hallucinogenic mushrooms in the hours before the fatal 2022 shooting. For that, he’s charged with felony possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance.
Richard Roper, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas not connected to the case, believes it’s clear that federal prosecutors view Ragsdale as a threat and are getting creative in coming up with a charge to try to bring him to justice for what they think is a legitimate crime.
"And I think they’re trying to be innovative," he said.
If convicted, Ragsdale faces up to 15 years in prison.