Pasadena man on probation after wife was shot in their home arrested on assault, arson charges

A Pasadena man convicted in February of shooting his wife in the arm was arrested on assault and arson charges Aug. 10, two months after he was released from jail, according to court records.

After a July 29 fire in his home, Ryan Patrick Villeneuve was transported to and treated at an area hospital until his arrest, police wrote in charging documents.

On the afternoon of July 29, first responders arrived at Villeneuve’s Pasadena address following reports of a domestic altercation in progress. Smoke was coming out of a second-floor bedroom, fire investigators wrote in their own charging papers, and Villeneuve had barricaded himself inside.

Interviewing family members, police learned that Villeneuve had been under the influence of crack cocaine before lashing out at his wife, according to charging papers. Villeneuve had struck and knocked her to the ground, police wrote, and then began smothering her with a pillow.

When one of her sons tried pushing Villeneuve off his mother, Villeneuve began punching him, police wrote.

The 39-year-old then went upstairs and barricaded himself inside the master bedroom. Police described Villeneuve “viciously destroying” the bedroom, trying “to put as much property between him and police” as he could. Soon, police and fire officials said Villeneuve lit a large fire using clothing and furniture.

As fire personnel helped extinguish the blaze, Villeneuve left the house through a window, according to Cpl. Chris Anderson, a police spokesperson.

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Villeneuve, 39, faces felony first-degree arson and assault charges from the July 29 incident, as well as two second-degree assault charges. A public defender will be assigned to his case, according to the Maryland Judiciary.

The fight and fire took place less than two months after Villeneuve began a five-year probationary period on a first-degree assault charge.

In August 2022, police responded to a shooting at Villeneuve’s listed address in Severna Park, where they found him applying pressure to his wife’s wounded arm. He told police his handgun had accidentally discharged while he was cleaning it, though officers were skeptical of his story.

When a family member told police Villeneuve and his wife were fighting before the shooting, he was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault, and three counts of reckless endangerment — one count each for the wife and two children inside the house.

Villeneuve pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in February and was sentenced to five years of supervised probation in June.

At the time, defense attorney Peter O’Neill, who represented Villeneuve in the shooting case, called the sentencing “fair and equitable,” saying the family was happy to be reunited.

O’Neill declined to comment.