Southfield Murder Suspect Ruled Fit for Trial in Tahiry Broom Killing

A judge has ruled that the man accused of fatally shooting Tahiry Broom outside a Southfield apartment complex last year is mentally competent to stand trial, clearing the way for the case against Robert Louis Ridges to move forward in December. Broom, a 29-year-old transgender woman from Cleveland who was also known as Tokyo, was found dead on February 9, 2025, outside the Riverstone Apartments in the 25000 block of Shiawassee Road, shot once in the head.

Judge Jeffery Matis determined that Ridges, 30, is competent for trial following a psychiatric and psychological examination ordered by the court in February, according to The Oakland Press. Under Michigan law, competency for trial requires that a defendant understand the nature of the proceedings, comprehend the criminal charges faced, understand their own rights, and be mentally capable of rationally assisting in their own defense. Michigan defendants are legally presumed competent unless a psychiatric evaluation demonstrates otherwise, per Michigan's Mental Health Code.

What Happened the Morning Broom Was Killed

Police said Ridges and Broom had a FaceTime conversation that morning and spoke with each other several times before Broom entered the Riverstone Apartments, an encounter captured on surveillance video. Broom's 2021 Chevrolet Equinox was later found parked roughly 400 feet from the shooting scene, according to C & G Newspapers. Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren said phone records showed Ridges made approximately 33 calls to sex workers that morning, predominantly Black women, including transgender women.

Ridges was arrested at MGM Grand Casino in Detroit approximately 11 hours after Broom's body was found, officials said, in an operation involving Southfield tactical officers and an FBI task force. A search of Ridges' home turned up a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun that police said was used to kill Broom and had been reported stolen out of Georgia in July 2023. Ridges is being held in the Oakland County Jail after being denied bond, and his trial is scheduled for December 7.

Hate Crime Question Left Unresolved

Police said Ridges claimed during questioning that he did not know Broom was transgender. Southfield police evaluated the shooting as a potential hate crime given Broom's identity as a member of the transgender community, but Chief Barren said investigators lacked sufficient initial physical or digital evidence to add state or federal hate crime enhancements, according to FOX 2 Detroit.

Ridges is charged with second-degree murder, carrying a concealed weapon, and felony firearm. Under Michigan Compiled Laws Section 750.317, second-degree murder is punishable by life imprisonment or any term of years at the trial court's discretion. The felony firearm charge, under MCL 750.227b, carries a mandatory two-year prison term that must be served consecutively to and before any sentence for the underlying felony, according to the Safe & Just Michigan Alliance. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said upon filing the charges that every person is entitled to live without fear of violence, and emphasized that Broom was loved by family and friends.

A Pattern Advocates Say Is Bigger Than One Case

Fair Michigan victim advocate Julisa Abad noted that Broom's killing came less than 90 days after the legal resolution of another Metro Detroit case involving a transgender woman, Ashia Davis, according to Pride Source. National data compiled by Everytown for Gun Safety found that at least 298 transgender and gender-expansive people were killed in the U.S. between 2017 and early 2025, with firearms involved in 72% of those homicides and Black trans women accounting for more than 60% of gun homicide victims.

The Riverstone Apartments have seen violence beyond Broom's killing. Hoodline previously reported that the same complex was the site of a Christmas night double homicide in December 2025, when two men were killed during a domestic dispute unrelated to the Broom case. Ridges' trial is now set to begin December 7, with the competency ruling clearing the last procedural hurdle before proceedings move forward.