Syracuse man indicted on 25 counts in Pioneer Homes standoff

A grand jury has returned a 25-count indictment against Rodney Vanderpool, turning the May 9 Pioneer Homes standoff into one of the most serious police-violence cases in Onondaga County this year. Vanderpool was arraigned June 18 in Onondaga County Court and pleaded not guilty, defense attorney Susan Clare Carey said.

Prosecutors said the indictment includes 11 counts of attempted murder in the first degree and 11 counts of attempted murder in the second degree, tied to ten Syracuse Police officers and one Syracuse University Department of Public Safety officer. The filing also adds criminal firearm charges and two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, after police said Vanderpool attacked two dogs with a machete before the gunfire began.

District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said forensic work showed Vanderpool fired 67 shots during the standoff. He said one officer, McKenzie Glenn, was pinned down during the exchange and heavy equipment had to be used to get her out of the line of fire safely. Fitzpatrick also said several officers sought shelter from residents in the Tyler Court complex during the barrage but were turned away, underscoring how quickly the confrontation spilled across a dense public-housing setting.

Police said the incident began around 6 a.m. with reports of a machete attack on a dog. Syracuse police said four officers exchanged gunfire with Vanderpool, and three officers were injured, two by gunfire and one in a non-gunfire hand injury. The officers were treated at Upstate University Hospital and later returned home to recover. Mayor Sharon Owens visited them and said they were in good spirits. Vanderpool surrendered around 3:15 p.m., ending a standoff that lasted most of the day.

The indictment advances the case into the next phase of felony prosecution, where evidence, ballistics and officer testimony are likely to drive the courtroom fight over intent and responsibility. At its core, the case alleges a sustained attack on police and a companion-animal assault that prosecutors say helped set the violence in motion.

The setting adds to the stakes. Pioneer Homes, completed in 1941, is widely described as one of Syracuse’s oldest public-housing developments and the first public housing project in New York State. The area is also part of the East Adams Street neighborhood and the Historic 15th Ward, where a redevelopment plan has called for replacing more than 600 aging public-housing units with more than 1,400 new units over time. Against that backdrop, the Vanderpool case has become a test of how Syracuse confronts violence that unfolds inside one of its most closely watched neighborhoods.