Midland Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug and Firearm Charges in Connection with the Murder of Two Midlanders in July 2015

Ryan David Green, age 27 of Midland, faces up to life in federal prison time after pleading guilty this week to firearm and drug trafficking charges in connection with the murder of two Midland residents in July 2015, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash, Midland Police Chief Seth Herman and DEA Special Agent in Charge Kyle Williamson, El Paso Division.

Appearing before U.S. District Judge David Counts on Wednesday, Green pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and, one count of murder resulting from the discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

By pleading guilty, Green admitted that on July 17, 2015, he and his co-defendants—Sean Blake Jobe and Trace Ryan Roland—conspired to murder a Midland man because of drug money the man owed to Roland. 

According to court records, in the early morning hours of July 17, 2015, Green and Jobe went to a home in Midland and shot and killed the man and his girlfriend, who were living in a shed behind the home.  Then they set fire to the shed and burned the victims beyond recognition. 

Earlier this year, both Jobe and Roland pleaded guilty to the same three federal charges.  All of the defendants remain in federal custody.  Sentencing for all three defendants is scheduled for October 10, 2019, before Judge Counts in Midland.

The Midland Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandi Young and Glenn Harwood are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.