Man shot to death in his home was ex-Miami-Dade cop convicted of sex assault in the 90s
A 51-year-old man was found shot to death in his Sunrise home, and police need the community’s help in finding out who killed him.
Johnnie Ridgeway III, who served as a Miami-Dade police officer from 1995 until he was fired in 1999 after he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of sexual assault, was found Tuesday in his home in the 5000 block of Northwest 12th Court.
Sunrise police say Ridgeway was “shot multiple times” sometime between 7 a.m. and noon.
Broward CrimeStoppers on Friday shared a flier with Ridgeway’s photo and offered a reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to an arrest.
Miami-Dade police confirmed Ridgeway worked for the department. Federal court records show that Ridgeway was indicted in 1998 after investigators said he used his position as an officer to extort sexual favors from women during traffic stops. In a novel case at the time, prosecutors slapped Ridgeway with a six-charge indictment on violating the civil rights of women.
In 1999, Ridgeway pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting a woman in June 1997, according to a Miami Herald news story at the time. He was sentenced to two years in federal prison followed by three years probation.
Anyone with information is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-471-8477 (TIPS).
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 7:32 PM.
