Houser to be sentenced on Tuesday

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

It appears a case that has been in the local court system since late 2023 will finally come to an end on Tuesday.

After several delays in his case, Ryan Houser, 39, of Rockford, is scheduled to be sentenced in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on single count of murder, an unclassified felony. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. The charge, which carries a mandatory 15 years to life sentence without the possibility of early release, is tied to the early September, 2023 shooting death of Houser’s girlfriend, Barbara Ganger. She was found shot twice at her residence at Van Wert West Apartments on W. Main St.

Houser was arrested and jailed on in Mercer County four days after Ganger’s death on unrelated charges of having a weapon under disability. In spring of this year he entered a guilty plea to that charge and was sentenced to time served.

He was indicted by a Van Wert County grand jury on November 2, 2023, and pleaded not guilty during his arraignment several days later. He has been housed at the Van Wert County Correctional Facility in lieu of $1 million bond since his arrest.

During his incarceration, Houser’s case has been slowed by various delays, including two changes of legal counsel. His third and current attorney is Kenneth Rexford of Lima. The case was also delayed by the filing of several legal motions and a supression hearing.

Trial dates were established twice, once in April of 2024 and again in April of this year. Approximately six weeks before he was scheduled to stand trial this year, Houser abruptly entered a no contest plea to the murder charge and was immediately found guilty by Judge Martin D. Burchfield, who then scheduled sentencing for May 7. In exchange for the plea, three other charges – aggravated murder, an unclassified felony, possessing a weapon under disability, and tampering with evidence, both third degree felonies, were dismissed.

“We had discussed this plea with the victim’s family and they were okay with it and I think this is a good resolution,” Van Wert County Proseuctor Eva Yarger said after Houser entered the plea. “It prevents them from having to go through a potentially multi-week trial and it gives closure to them.”

However, just as the May 7 sentencing hearing began, Houser proclaimed his innocence and requested his no contest plea be withdrawn, which led to another hearing being scheduled for May 22. At that hearing, Rexford and Yarger both presented oral arguments and one witness, Lt. Rob Black of the Van Wert Police Department, took the stand. Prior to the hearing, Rexford filed legal documents citing a possible precedent, but a written response filed by Yarger refuted the motion.

Eight days later, Judge Burchfield denied the request and scheduled sentencing for June 24. Had Houser’s request been granted, a new trial date would have been scheduled, likely for late summer or early fall of this year.