Police dismissed charges against an initial suspect before arresting Marine Isaac Ruiz and later expanding the case to six felony counts.
WILMINGTON, N.C. — The investigation into the attack that severely injured Savannah Johnson did not begin with the man now accused of attempted murder. It began with another arrest, a discarded theory and nearly two more weeks of police work.
That unusual path has become an important part of the case against Isaac Ruiz, a 26-year-old Camp Lejeune Marine now facing six felony charges. Wilmington police initially charged a different man after Johnson was found with life-threatening injuries at a home in the Talon Court area in June. Prosecutors later dismissed those charges, stating that the evidence was insufficient and supported the man’s alibi. Detectives kept investigating. Ruiz was arrested June 24, and a grand jury later added attempted first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury to his original charges of strangulation, serious bodily injury and first-degree burglary.
The first correction came before Ruiz entered the case publicly. WECT reported that a June 19 filing dismissed the charges against the earlier suspect because the available evidence did not support continuing the prosecution. Wilmington police said its Criminal Investigation Division had spent the following period pursuing leads, conducting interviews, analyzing evidence, reviewing surveillance video and following information supplied by the public. The department’s account is significant because it shows investigators did not simply transfer the same allegations from one defendant to another. They continued developing the case after prosecutors concluded the first arrest could not stand.
Police announced Ruiz’s arrest June 24. Court documents described Johnson’s injuries as fractures of the neck and upper back and damage to blood vessels in her neck. The arrest allegations included assault by strangulation, assault inflicting serious bodily injury and first-degree burglary. WWAY reported that Ruiz’s initial court appearance produced a $1 million secured bond. The court also imposed strict conditions in the event of release, including no direct or indirect contact with Johnson or her family, electronic monitoring and house arrest with limited exceptions. Ruiz remained in custody rather than posting that bond.
The investigation then continued after the arrest. By late August, WECT reported that authorities had obtained search warrants for Ruiz’s iPhone and his vehicle. Public reports have not disclosed the complete results of those searches, and police have not released a comprehensive evidence inventory explaining how each item relates to the allegations. Still, the next major step was clear: a grand jury indicted Ruiz on three additional felonies. Attempted first-degree murder became the most serious allegation in the case, accompanied by armed robbery and another assault count alleging use of a deadly weapon with intent to kill and the infliction of serious injury.
A grand jury indictment is not a finding that Ruiz committed those crimes. It permits the state to prosecute the charges after jurors determine there is probable cause for them to move forward. The additional counts also do not erase the need for prosecutors to prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt if the case reaches trial. Authorities have not publicly provided a full account of what they say was taken during the alleged robbery or identified all evidence they believe establishes an intent to kill. Ruiz has not been convicted in connection with Johnson’s injuries, and the allegations remain subject to challenge in court.
What is known publicly about the attack comes from arrest records, police statements and accounts from Johnson’s family. Savannah Johnson, 22, had recently graduated from Northern Michigan University and traveled from Michigan to Wilmington while considering employment and a possible move. Her father, Ricky Johnson, said she had previously met Ruiz on a double date but did not reciprocate his romantic interest. Her family believes that rejection was connected to the attack. Investigators, however, have not publicly established that explanation as the official motive. Police accuse Ruiz of entering the family member’s home where Johnson was staying and assaulting her.
Johnson’s injuries made the case far more than a conventional burglary investigation. Family members said she was initially paralyzed from the neck down. Reports based on court records described fractures in her cervical spine and upper back, along with serious vascular injuries. She needed intensive hospital care and respiratory support. Her parents traveled from Michigan and remained near her during treatment. She later began recovering movement in her arms, feet and hips before being transferred by a charitable medical flight to a specialized spinal rehabilitation program in the Midwest. By late August, her parents said she had gained additional mobility and sensation, although her recovery remained ongoing.
The case also generated a piece of evidence that has attracted attention but has not been publicly authenticated by investigators. An online fundraising campaign for Johnson listed a $2,000 donation under the name Isaac Ruiz. The contribution included a message encouraging Johnson and saying, “It will be over before you know it.” Port City Daily asked Wilmington police whether detectives had verified who made the contribution and whether they viewed the message as relevant to the investigation. A police representative declined to answer those questions, citing the active case. The family likewise declined to discuss whether there had been other contact involving Ruiz before the arrest. Without police verification, the fundraiser entry cannot by itself establish who submitted it.
Ruiz’s military affiliation has added another institution to a case otherwise being handled by local police and North Carolina courts. The 2nd Marine Division confirmed he is a mortarman assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Division officials said they were aware of the arrest and cooperating with the agencies leading the investigation. A Marine Corps spokesperson later said decisions about administrative or legal action for service members facing civilian charges are made case by case. Public reporting has not established a separate military prosecution arising from the alleged attack.
Johnson’s family, meanwhile, has tried to keep the criminal process from defining her recovery. She graduated with training in illustration and had hoped to work as an artist. Her father has spoken about how important it was when movement began returning to the fingers of her drawing hand. Michigan reports said she also made clothing and depended heavily on fine motor skills. The family’s fundraising efforts have been directed toward medical care, rehabilitation, travel and possible accessibility modifications at home. People in Wilmington offered the family housing and transportation during the long hospitalization, support her father described as striking because much of it came from strangers.
For investigators, the chronology remains central: an attack, an initial arrest that did not hold, renewed investigative work, Ruiz’s arrest, search warrants and a later grand jury indictment. Each stage produced a more serious legal posture, but none eliminates the state’s burden at trial. It also leaves unanswered questions. Authorities have not disclosed all of the evidence collected from Ruiz’s phone or car, the basis for every added count or whether the disputed fundraiser contribution will become part of the prosecution.
For now, Ruiz remains jailed under the $1 million secured bond in the latest reporting reviewed for this article. WECT said an administrative court hearing was scheduled for Oct. 12. Johnson continued rehabilitation after her parents reported gains in mobility. The criminal case and her medical recovery are therefore moving on separate tracks: one toward litigation over what prosecutors say happened inside the Talon Court home, and the other toward an outcome doctors and family members say is still developing.
Author note: Last updated September 21, 2026.