Union County firefighter indicted on domestic violence, kidnapping charges

A Union County grand jury indicted firefighter Randall Riffle Jr. on three felony counts after deputies said he shattered a glass door with rocks during a domestic incident at a Richwood-area home. Riffle was arraigned in Union County Court of Common Pleas, pleaded not guilty and had bond set at $250,000.

The indictment charges Riffle with domestic violence, kidnapping and aggravated burglary. Officials confirmed that he was a firefighter with the Northern Union Fire Department, and a separate local report identified him as a lieutenant with the Northern Union County Fire Department. The case places a public-safety employee under felony charges while he remains tied to a department that serves the Richwood area around the clock.

Deputies said the Union County Sheriff’s Office received a call on the night of June 29 from a woman reporting a domestic incident at her house involving Riffle. According to the affidavit summarized in the case, the woman told authorities that Riffle was throwing rocks at the house and tried to break down the door. Deputies said he threw two large rocks through a glass door while the woman stood behind it trying to keep him out of the home, where her children were inside. The shattered glass injured the woman, the affidavit said.

Authorities said Riffle left the house and was taken into custody near the property. The indictment also references a prior domestic violence charge stemming from a 2002 incident, adding another layer to a case that now reaches beyond one household and into the public trust placed in first responders.

Northern Union County Fire and EMS says its station is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, underscoring the department’s role in the Richwood-area community. That makes the case more than a courtroom matter for Union County residents: it involves a member of a local emergency service whose job depends on public confidence, split-second judgment and constant access to homes in crisis.