Huber Heights man sent to prison for girlfriend’s murder

UPDATE @ 10 a.m. Oct. 6

Ryan Mitchell was sentenced to a total of 22 and a half years in prison this morning in Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Gregory Singer’s courtroom.

Mitchell was convicted last month in the February 2014 shooting death of 26-year-old Melissa Nilson.

Mitchell shot Nilson in the head at their home on Cree Avenue and then fled from Huber Heights police. He was arrested a short time later after he broke into a nearby bar in an effort to hide from officers.

“This defendant shot and killed a young woman, fled from police in a stolen car, broke into a business and assaulted a police officer. He certainly deserves this lengthy prison sentence,” Prosecutor Mat Heck said in a release.

Mitchell’s convicted charges include three counts of murder; two counts felonious assault; grand theft of a motor vehicle; assault on a police officer; having weapons while under disability; failure to stop after an accident; and failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, according to the prosecutor’s office.

UPDATE @ 5:10 p.m. (Sept. 22)

Mitchell was found guilty on all counts.

UPDATE @ 4:30 p.m. (Sept. 22)

A verdict has been reached in the case involving Ryan Mitchell. Mitchell is accused of murder and several other charges in the shooting death of Melissa Nilson in February 2014.

UPDATE @ 11:13 a.m. (Sept. 22)

The jury continues to deliberate this hour on the fate of Ryan Mitchell, accused of murder and several other charges in the shooting death of Melissa Nilson in February 2014.

UPDATE @ 7:08 p.m. (Sept. 21): The jury in the trial of Ryan Mitchell will reconvene Tuesday morning in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to continue deciding the fate of Ryan Mitchell, accused of murder and several other charges in the shooting death of Melissa Nilson in February 2014.

EARLIER REPORT (Sept. 14)

The trial for a man accused of the deadly shooting of a woman in the front yard of her Huber Heights home last year is scheduled to begin today.

Ryan D. Mitchell, 30, is accused of shooting 26-year-old Melissa Nilson in the head in the front yard of her Cree Avenue home on Feb. 21, 2014. Mitchell fled the scene as officers responded, and cruiser cam footage showed Mitchell crash into a motorist on Rip Rap Road before breaking into a nearby bar, Jackass Flats, where he was arrested.

Surveillance footage was released of a jailhouse assault after he was booked into jail on Feb. 22, 2014. The video shows Mitchell reportedly beating his head against the cell glass, requiring officers to put him in a restraining chair. Mitchell was naked.

About an hour later, six corrections officers can be seen unstrapping Mitchell. A few seconds after he stands, Mitchell punches one of the officers in the face. That officer strikes Mitchell back, hitting him once in the face as the other officers try to force Mitchell to the ground. Other jail employees rush in to assist.

The incident prompted an internal investigation by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, which is standard procedure, according to reports.

Police said Nilson was Mitchell’s girlfriend. Her 4-year-old child was at home at the time of the shooting.

In addition to facing charges of murder and assault on an officer, he faces counts of felonious assault, grand theft, burglary, failure to stop after an accident, having weapons as a felon and failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer.

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