DUBLIN — A Connersville man who died in a shootout with police Friday night was firing with a stolen gun.
Ryan Pruet, 33, died after “a substantial exchange of gunfire,” said Henry County Police Det. Kim Cronk.
According to Indiana State Police, Pruet led a trooper on a 30-minute chase through northwest Fayette County after he ignored a stop sign. He weaved through the rural area, turning on several county roads and driving up to 60 mph.
Eventually he crossed into Henry County and confronted more officers from the state police, sheriff’s department and Cambridge City Police Department.
Pruet brandished a weapon — a semi-automatic handgun that Cronk said had been stolen during a 2007 burglary in Connersville — and finally stopped his vehicle in the median of U.S. 40 east of the intersection with Bentonville Road.
That’s when the gunfire began. In a news release, state police said Pruet exited his vehicle and “fired in the direction of officers.” Five officers, including Henry County Sheriff’s Maj. Jay Davis and Deputy Matt Pierce, returned fire, though investigators on Saturday declined to say how many shots were fired.
Cronk said bullets hit police cars, but officers were not injured in the exchange, which happened about 10:20 p.m. Friday.
An ambulance and medical helicopter were called, but Pruet died at the scene.
A 1994 graduate of Connersville Senior High School, Pruet had eaten dinner at a restaurant and was on his way home before the shooting, his older brother Jeff Pruet told The Star Press on Saturday.
“We’re lost for words. We don’t know why it happened,” Jeff Pruet said. “We’ve had calls all day and we don’t have answers.”
The younger Pruet was unemployed, his brother said. He had taken some classes at Indiana University-East in Richmond but didn’t graduate. He wasn’t married and had no children.
“He was outgoing. Nice and everything,” Jeff Pruet said.
But Friday night wasn’t Pruet’s first contact with law enforcement. At age 20 he was charged with a misdemeanor for entering a liquor store in Fayette County. He entered a pre-trial diversion program.
In 1999 he was charged with another criminal misdemeanor, operating a vehicle while intoxicated. As part of a plea agreement, his jail sentence was suspended and he served an informal probation period for one year.
Then, in 2007, Pruet was charged with conversion, a misdemeanor, and six felony counts of theft. As part of a diversion agreement last summer, all felony charges were dropped and he paid fines and restitution.
Miller Moster Robbins Funeral Home in Connersville is handling arrangements. The funeral home said Pruet’s mother had contacted them, but as of Saturday, because an autopsy was still pending, police had yet to release the body.