Ex-marine held without bond in shooting deaths of family

A former Marine sharpshooter who told authorities he was high on methamphetamines when he invaded a home in Florida and fatally shot a mother, her 3-monthold baby and two others was ordered held without bond during his first court appearance on Monday.

Bryan Riley, 33, will be appointed his own lawyer until he can get one, a judge said.

Riley surrendered Sunday morning after a furious gun battle with authorities who brought in at least one armored vehicle during their standoff. An officer then rushed into the home and rescued an 11-year-old girl, who was still conscious despite being shot seven times. She was in critical but stable condition on Monday, the sheriff ’s office said.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Riley, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, appeared to be suffering from mental health issues. He said Riley’s girlfriend told investigators he had post-traumatic stress syndrome and had been unraveling for weeks, repeatedly telling her he could communicate directly with God.

The slain family first encountered Riley on Saturday evening when he randomly stopped by their home in Lakeland, about 30 miles from Tampa, where he lives, Judd said.

Justice Gleason, 40, was mowing his lawn when Riley pulled onto their property and said God had sent him there to prevent a suicide by someone named “Amber.” Gleason said there was no one there by that name, and told him to leave. Gleason called law enforcement and authorities responded, but Riley was gone.

Hours later, Riley returned and shot the family. He told interrogators that “they begged for their lives and I killed them anyway,” Judd said.

Authorities responding to the sound of gunfire found Riley’s white truck ablaze.

KIMBERLY MOORE/THE LEDGER VIA AP Bryan Riley, 33, accused of killing four people in a Lakeland, Fla., home, is led from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday.