One of four teen suspects in the murder of Apex High School student Matthew Silliman was investigated in March for allegedly brandishing a handgun around his neighborhood, sending threatening emails and plotting to blow up a school bus.
Ryan Patrick Hare, 18, Allegra Rose Dahlquist,17, Aadil Shahid Khan, 17, and Drew Logan Shaw, 16, were arrested and charged with murder on December 3 after the body of Matthew Josiah Silliman, 18, was found in an unoccupied home owned by Dahlquist's family.
A Silver Alert had been issued for Silliman, who was believed to be suffering from a cognitive impairment, on November 26 after he went missing from his home.
Police have released very few details about the case, including the cause of death or possible motive, but a search warrant obtained by NC WANTED provides insight into one suspect's criminal past.
Apex police executed the warrant at Ryan Hare's parents' home on Walnut Hill Court in March 2008 after neighbors had reported Ryan, then 17, had been seen brandishing a 9 mm handgun and a rifle throughout the subdivision.
They seized a computer and flash drive, 52 boxes of 39 mm ammunition, two magazines filled with ammunition, a 39 mm AK style assault rifle, a magazine for another AK 47 style rifle and a rifle case from the home. According to the warrant, Ryan's father had told police on several occasions that the only gun in the home was Ryan's paintball pistol.
Leading up to the March search warrant, Apex police had been investigating Hare in connection with various other incidents. He had been identified as the writer of threatening emails. Panther Creek High School security found three paint ball guns in Hare's white SUV. Earlier that day, a school bus driver reported that a white male in a white SUV shot paint balls at the bus while it was in motion.
Hare was charged with possession of paint ball guns on school property. Around the same time, he withdrew from Panther Creek High.
While officers were investigating the paintball incident, the warrant states, they received information that Ryan Hare had made threatening statements to other students about plans to blow up a school bus. Investigators were repeatedly denied access to the Hare home or to question Ryan by Patrick and Cynthia Hare.
In late February, as part of the investigation, officers interviewed some of Ryan's classmates, who reported that they had seen Ryan shooting a 9 mm handgun and that he had access to an AK-47 rifle, both owned by his father.
The warrant states that investigators were seeking charges against Ryan and his parents, Patrick and Cynthia Hare, for failing to store a firearm to protect a minor, possession of explosive or explosive making material, and conspiracy to commit criminal violation. Ryan was ultimately charged, but those charges were dismissed. It is unclear whether his parents were ever charged.
Today, Ryan Hare is being held at the Wake County Jail without bond.
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