A previously convicted felon, Devonte Thornton, has been sentenced for the coordinated and deliberate attack on two Phoenix Police Officers in March 2022.
Thornton pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault, a Class Two Dangerous Felony in April of this year and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
On March 13, 2022, Thornton, along with an accomplice, lead the officers to a nearby apartment complex at 27th and Maryland Avenues. Thornton stepped out of the apartment complex and shot at the officers. Eighteen shell casings were recovered at the scene and the passenger officer was hit by one of the bullets in his right arm.
Thornton had a previous felony conviction from Missouri which made him a prohibited possessor at the time of the offense.
“The officers were inches away from death,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “We know that the work of a police officer is dangerous as they put themselves in harm’s way, but this was not just being in harm’s way; this was an attempt against their lives.”