Authorities said the officer faces three second-degree receiving stolen property counts tied to firearms recovered at the scene.
MOBILE, Ala. — A Prichard police officer involved in a fatal shooting investigation in Mobile was arrested Thursday after a secret grand jury indictment accused him of possessing stolen firearms recovered at the scene, according to the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney Keith Blackwood said officer Ryan Phillips was indicted on three counts of second-degree receiving stolen property involving a gun. The charges grew out of a Feb. 12 investigation on Wesley Avenue, where Mobile police responded to a shooting, recovered 14 firearms and later found that some of the weapons had been reported stolen. The homicide investigation tied to the death of 44-year-old Sanjuanita Coronado remains open.
Blackwood said Phillips was arrested after authorities executed a warrant Thursday afternoon. A judge set bond at $15,000 on each count. Prosecutors said they chose to bring the stolen-property case now, rather than wait for the broader homicide investigation to end, because Phillips remained an active law enforcement officer with the city of Prichard at the time charges were filed.
“The badge represents public trust,” Blackwood said in a statement. He said prosecutors had a duty to act when evidence suggested that someone in a position of public trust may have broken the law. The district attorney’s office said the grand jury reviewed the evidence before returning the indictment and that the case will now move through Alabama’s criminal justice system.
The criminal charges do not resolve the separate investigation into Coronado’s death. Authorities have not announced homicide charges in that case, and officials have not publicly described what role Phillips may ultimately have in the ongoing death investigation beyond identifying him as an officer involved in the incident. Mobile police recovered the firearms while securing the Wesley Avenue scene, according to prosecutors.
Later Thursday, city officials said Phillips had been on administrative leave since the February incident. In a written statement, the city said it was cooperating with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and the district attorney’s office and described the legal process as one that should be handled thoroughly and transparently. The statement also said city leaders had been working with the sheriff’s office on outside assistance and oversight tied to operations inside the Prichard Police Department.
The city said that effort would include officer training and a broad review of administrative procedures, including evidence-room management. Officials framed the work as part of a larger push to rebuild trust after the fatal incident. As of Thursday, the most immediate criminal case against Phillips centered on the three firearm-related stolen property counts, while the investigation into Coronado’s death continued on a separate track.
Author note: Last updated March 13, 2026.