REDDING: Three teens arrested after “brutal” garden hoe & hammer attack of three adults

REDDING — Three Redding teens have been arrested in the brutal garden hoe and hammer attack of three adults that happened sometime early Saturday morning, according to officials. The grisly incident occurred during an apparent robbery at a duplex on the 1100 block of Grange Street, west of S. Market Street, in Redding’s Park Subdivision.

All three victims remain hospitalized,​ Redding Police Sergeant Todd Cogle explained after the deadly attack. Two men, 25-year-old, Kyle Richard Byrd, and 26-year-old, Richard Eugene Ross, are listed in critical condition and 28-year-old, Ashley Rae Ross, is in stable condition, according to the Sgt. All three are Redding residents. Officials have not specified how or if the Ross’ were related.

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Redding police officers responded to the residence shortly before 10:30 a.m., after a neighbor called 911 to report finding “a large amount of blood near a vehicle in the driveway,” wrote Cogle. The caller also told SHASCOM dispatchers that blood was leading toward the front door of the apartment.

When officers arrived at the scene they located the blood and attempted to conduct a welfare check on the occupants who were believed to be at the location. Officers who knocked on the door heard groaning coming from inside the home, at which time they entered the apartment and found the three seriously injured residents.

All three victims were suffering from “extensive head wounds” and were in “desperate need of medical attention,” Cogle explained. All three victims were eventually rushed to Mercy Medical Center for treatment.

Based on the circumstances, Redding PD Investigators responded to the scene and assumed the investigation. During their investigation, officials determined the victims were “struck about the head and face with a garden hoe and a hammer,” according to Cogle. Investigators also located a broken and bloody garden hoe used in the attack.

Based on evidence at the scene, investigators determined the hoe was used with such force “the wooden handle splintered and broke,” according to Cogle.

After the gruesome attack, the victims “were left to languish in the apartment, suffering from serious head wounds and bleeding for several hours” until police were notified about the blood outside the apartment.

As the investigation was getting underway, officials contacted area residents searching for possible witnesses or any information that might help shed light on how, when, and why the trio was attacked.

Investigators learned three juvenile males had been “socializing” with the three adults at their residence the prior night, and began seeking information about the trio of teens seen at the location.

As investigators gathered information and developed leads they received information that a 17-year-old male who lived a short distance away from the scene of the attacks had been at the residence the previous evening.

“The juvenile was contacted and made suspicious statements,” Cogle wrote, explaining, “Property removed from the victims’ apartment was located in the juvenile’s residence.”

During a subsequent interview the teen confessed to his involvement in the bloody attack, according to the Sgt. Two additional males, a 16-year-old and 17-year-old, were also eventually identified.

Officials later located the pair in the area of Martin Luther King Park and both were detained without incident. The boys were transported to Redding PD where they were interviewed and eventually confessed to their involvement in the robbery and beating.

Officials later searched the two other juveniles’ homes and located additional stolen property taken from the victims’ residence, inside one of the homes.

All three suspects were eventually booked into Shasta County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of attempted murder, robbery, and conspiracy.

Additional charges could be filed, according to Cogle, who explained that the juveniles’ names won’t be released due to their ages.

​Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Redding PD at (530) 225-4200. Callers can refer to incident file number 18-37213 and can remain anonymous.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 46, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.