Man accused of shooting into busy tavern held on $750,000 bond

Staff report

WARREN

Bond was set at $750,000 after a judge entered not-guilty pleas for Ryan Rulong, 27, to seven charges accusing him of firing a gun into a Larchmont Avenue tavern Friday night and robbing a Howland gas station Tuesday afternoon.

The incident at the University At Larchmont tavern resulted in three counts of felonious assault and three counts of attempt to commit an offense being filed against him.

Police said Wednesday those charges would be called attempted murder. Attempted murder and attempt to commit an offense are both felonies punishable by up to about 10 years in prison.

A not-guilty plea also was entered Thursday on an aggravated-robbery charge stemming from allegations he robbed the True North gas station on East Market Street in Howland on Tuesday afternoon.

Police captured him on state Route 11 after the robbery. When police interviewed him, he confessed to being the person who shot into the tavern, Warren Police Chief Eric Merkel said during a news conference Wednesday.

Police already had suspected Rulong was the tavern shooter by that time and had secured a search warrant for his pickup truck and a home on Larchmont police believe he went to shortly after he left the bar.

Police say Rulong fell onto the ground in front of the tavern while trying to climb over a fence on the tavern’s front patio as he left. It led to words being exchanged between Rulong and two male patrons on the patio.

Seventy minutes later, Rulong drove past the tavern in his pickup truck firing at least five times, police said. Three people inside the bar were struck with bullets, and one was struck by shattered glass from the front door. All were treated at a local hospital and released that night.

If convicted on all charges, Rulong could get about 65 years in prison.

Rulong has addresses on Sandpiper Trail and Raglan Drive in Howland and Church Hill- Hubbard Road in Girard, according to court records.