KODIAK, Alaska (AP) - Prosecutors say the phone messages of an Alaska man suspected of killing another man in 2015 suggest he was drinking heavily before the incident.
Prosecutors presented the messages found on Steven Ridenour’s phone to a jury on Thursday, The Kodiak Daily Mirror reported (https://bit.ly/2ojuvmg). Investigator Dennis Dupras said the messages that Ridenour sent three days before the death of Steven McCaulley, 56, were mostly about drinking alcohol followed by others on his anger toward McCaulley.
Ridenour messages include him saying, “Tonight is a whiskey night,” ’’Jack is calling,” and “I’m going to drink these two bottles, get in a boat and go looking for mermaids.”
Ridenour had told a friend in a message that this behavior was not like him.
“When I get out of this corner again, I’m coming out blazing,” a November 10 message from Ridenour said.
Ridenour was charged with murder and evidence tampering in the shooting death of McCaulley. Investigators found McCaulley’s body Nov. 17, 2015, outside a bunkhouse on Shuyak Island.
Police arrested Ridenour a day after McCaulley’s body was found on unrelated misdemeanor warrants.
Alaska State Troopers said they still don’t know for certain what time of day McCaulley was killed.
Ridenour has maintained he shot and killed McCaulley in self-defense.
___
Information from: Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, https://www.kodiakdailymirror.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.