Reporting By Amy Meyer / Mineral Wells Area News
Nearly three years after a late-night altercation outside a Whataburger left 60-year-old Douglas Warren dead, the two men charged in connection with the case have been sentenced after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide.
The Altercation
According to Mineral Wells police reports, officers responded to the Whataburger on East Hubbard around 2 a.m. on Dec. 18, 2022, and found Warren unconscious and bleeding from the head.
Witness videos reviewed by investigators reportedly showed Ryan Cyle Hill, then 31, engaged in a physical confrontation with Warren before Ryan Tanner Woodring, then 30, exited the restaurant and struck Warren, causing him to fall. Hill then allegedly kicked Warren while he was on the ground and unresponsive.
Warren never regained consciousness and died at a Fort Worth hospital on Dec. 27, 2022. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide two days later.
From Charges to Pleas
Woodring was initially charged with assault causing bodily injury, while Hill faced aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury following the Dec. 18, 2022 altercation.
In December 2023, after Warren’s death was ruled a homicide, both men’s charges were upgraded to murder and they were rebooked into jail with bonds set at $100,000.
In March 2024, Hill and Woodring each pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of criminally negligent homicide, a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years behind bars and up to a $10,000 fine.
The case was prosecuted by the Kaufman County Criminal District Attorney’s Office after Palo Pinto County DA Kriste Burnett recused herself, citing a personal connection to the Woodring family and the hiring of her former assistant by the Warren family.
Sentencing
On Sept. 10, 2025, Woodring accepted a plea agreement that placed him on five years of deferred adjudication probation, required 180 days in the Palo Pinto County Jail with work release, imposed a $2,000 fine and $290 in court costs, and ordered him to complete 120 hours of community service.
Nine days later, on Sept. 19, Hill entered court with an open plea that would have left punishment entirely up to 29th District Judge Mike Moore. In a last-minute decision, however, he chose to accept a negotiated agreement nearly identical to Woodring’s rather than allow the judge to determine his sentence. Hill’s deal included five years’ deferred adjudication probation, 180 days in work release, and $2,000 restitution to Warren’s family, along with community service, drug and alcohol screenings, and required courses in anger management, conflict resolution, and life skills.
Victim Impact
During both hearings, Warren’s family delivered emotional impact statements, describing him as a man who “never met a stranger” and who “lived to lift others up.”
“Doug’s absence is a wound that will never fully heal,” his niece Amanda McDonald told the court. “I hope his memory becomes more than just a reminder of what we lost — I hope it becomes a reason for change.”
His daughter, Stephanie Warren, said her father’s death left a permanent void. “A girl needs her dad. I needed mine,” she said. “No courtroom, no sentence, no apology will ever bring my dad back.”
The family’s full impact statements can be read here: (Victim Impact Statement )
Family’s Reaction
Outside the courtroom, Warren’s niece Amanda McDonald told Mineral Wells Area News that restitution was not the family’s focus. “The money isn’t really what this was about for us,” she said, adding that they were not satisfied with the plea agreements.