PHOENIX — An El Mirage man has been sentenced to 26 years in prison for targeted attacks against local law enforcement.
Saul Ballardo, 40, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced on Feb. 28 in Maricopa County Superior Court.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Un hombre de El Mirage fue sentenciado por atacar a policías en varios tiroteos
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Ballardo was involved in 14 separate shootings that targeted law enforcement officers in El Mirage, Surprise, Youngtown and unincorporated areas of Maricopa County.
No one was struck by gunfire in any of the incidents. Nearly 50 law enforcement officials were victimized by the many incidents, DPS said.
One of the incidents involved the defendant attempting to ram a drone into a DPS helicopter. The offenses occurred between July and December 2021.
UP TO SPEED
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.