By Sara Schilling
The Charlotte Observer
MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — A 34-year-old man accused in a deadly attack on an Arizona sheriff’s deputy was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison, prosecutors said.
Clinton Hurley pleaded guilty to 16 charges, including first-degree murder, following the 2021 attack that led to the death of Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy Juan “Johnny” Ruiz, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said in a Feb. 21 news release.
McClatchy News reached out to Hurley’s attorney Feb. 21 and was awaiting a response.
The attack happened at a sheriff’s substation in Avondale, where Hurley was taken after an arrest in connection with multiple felony warrants, prosecutors said.
Ruiz removed the handcuffs Hurley was wearing in order to put him in a cell, and Hurley became “combative” and attacked Ruiz, prosecutors said.
“During the struggle, Hurley hit Deputy Ruiz several times with the blunt end of a pair of medical shears and punched him repeatedly as the deputy was lying on the floor,” according to prosecutors.
Hurley took Ruiz’s patrol car and used one of the deputy’s guns in an attempted carjacking, prosecutors said.
He eventually stole a different car, and “he was captured later that night in Tonopah after firing shots at a family outside a home and being shot by the homeowner,” according to prosecutors.
Ruiz died from his injuries in the hospital, prosecutors said.
The 45-year-old served with the sheriff’s office for three years after changing careers from insurance, according to an online obituary, which described him as an Arizona Diamondbacks and Las Vegas Raiders fan.
“He was a loyal son, brother, uncle, and friend who always stuck by his values,” the obituary said.
In court, Ruiz’s brother shared “about the pride he felt when his brother became a deputy, and the tremendous loss his death was for their family. He added that the hate he and his family have felt since then is no longer worth it,” prosecutors said.
The brother said that, “we cannot bring him back … so, I just hope this puts an end to our grief,” according to prosecutors.
County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the release that she’s proud of the work done to bring justice and closure.
“I have said this many times and I’m going to say it again; we must protect our men and women in law enforcement and never tolerate violence against them,” she said.
Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan , who attended the sentencing, said his “thoughts and prayers are with” Ruiz’s family.
“I hope they find some measure of peace in knowing that they will always be part of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office family,” he said in the release.
Avondale is about a 20-mile drive west from Phoenix.
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