A man accused of killing his girlfriend and a romantic rival earlier this week had shot both, then called 911 and waited for deputies, who found him sitting on stairs and drinking a beer outside the Ramona apartment where the killings happened, a prosecutor said Friday.
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The man, Ryan Wesley Proffitt, pleaded not guilty in El Cajon Superior Court on Thursday to two counts of murder, plus allegations that he personally used a gun and committed multiple killings. The 33-year-old from Escondido faces life in prison without parole if convicted as charged. His attorney did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.
The Sheriff’s Office identified the victims Friday as Ramona resident Courtney Chandler, 28, and San Diego County resident Nicholas McClure, 32.
Chandler was a U.S. Navy seaman who for the last year had been assigned to the USS John L. Canley, which is based in San Diego, a Navy spokesperson said. Chandler enlisted in the Navy in January 2025. The killings happened at an apartment complex for military members.
According to Deputy District Attorney Miriam Shoval, Proffitt called 911 just before 8:45 p.m. Monday, said he had been in a “lover’s quarrel” and that two people were dead. He supplied the address but declined to give his name, she said.
The Sheriff’s Office said earlier this week that deputies arrived at the site on 11th Street, a couple of blocks north of H Street, within four minutes. They found Proffitt on the steps outside the apartment.
Shoval said Friday that deputies found him “on the steps leading up to the apartment, drinking a beer.” Deputies detained Proffitt. Inside the apartment, deputies found Chandler and McClure. Both died at the scene.
The prosecutor said that as deputies were at the scene, a coworker of Chandler’s approached and said he had been sent to check on Chandler because at 8:34 p.m. Chandler had sent a text that said, “Hey he’s got a gun I need you.”
According to Shoval, Proffitt told detectives that he and Chandler had been in a relationship for about 14 months, but had decided about a month and a half ago to open their relationship. The prosecutor said Proffitt alleged Chandler started dating McClure — who Proffitt alleged was homeless — and that she brought McClure home to stay with the two of them.
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Shoval said Proffitt was jealous and “started to feel that he had been thrown aside.” That evening, the prosecutor said, all three were in the apartment when Proffitt “became upset because he felt he was being disrespected and unappreciated in the relationship.” She said he told deputies he went to his room, loaded a handgun and walked back out holding the gun tucked behind his leg to hide it as he confronted the two.
When asked why he hid it from view, she said he told them that if the conversation went well, he would return the gun to the room. And, she said, Protfitt added, “Of course, (the) conversation was not going to go right, I already anticipated that.”
The prosecutor said Proffitt alleged that the two told him to leave. He also said McClure charged at him, and he shot McClure three times before turning the gun on Chandler, the prosecutor said.
A GoFundMe page created by Chandler’s family notes that she was also known as Avery, and that she was “a beloved sister, daughter, granddaughter, and so much more.”
“Her loss has shattered her family and friends, and we are doing everything we can to honor her memory while navigating unimaginable grief,” the GoFundMe reads.
The Navy issued a statement saying, “Our heartfelt thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathies are with the Sailor’s family, friends, and shipmates during this incredibly difficult time.”
Superior Court Judge Peter Lynch granted the prosecution’s request that Proffitt be jailed without bail.
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Proffitt’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 22.
