PHOENIX — Newly released court documents are raising more questions than answers on the criminal history of a man accused of shooting and killing a Phoenix police officer last month. Friday, Saul Bal pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of Officer Zane Coolidge.
Court records show Bal has been in and out of jail or prison in both Arizona and California ten different times over the last 15 years. Most recently, Bal was on supervised release from the Arizona Department of Corrections after he was sentenced to six months in prison in April 2024.
That case was out of Navajo County, where Bal pleaded guilty to possessing drug paraphernalia in a jail. While awaiting trial in that case, Bal underwent a public safety assessment, which helps guide judges' decisions on pre-trial release conditions.
In that report obtained by 12News, Navajo County pre-trial services said he had an elevated risk of violence if he were to be released from jail. On a "new criminal activity scale" between one through six, Bal was labeled a six, meaning he was highly likely to re-offend.
“We always wish we could predict human behavior. I think he does have a lengthy rap sheet," former Maricopa County probation officer Beth Goulden said.
Goulden says the communication between prosecutors, probation officers, and prison officials can be improved in Arizona. She says it's entirely possible that this report never made its way to the desk of prison officials before he was released, nor would it have stopped them from abiding by the sentence handed down by Navajo County Judge Joseph Clark.
“Are we communicating? Are we treating cases as individuals on their individual merits that we're not just passing cases through the justice system to get rid of them," Goulden questioned.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell was asked if there were warning signs in Bal's criminal history a week after the fatal shooting happened.
“There was a history, a long history, but not a history of anything that would look like what happened last week. That doesn't mean that he wasn't held accountable. As you know, he was actually on parole from a prison sentence when this happened," Mitchell told reporters.
12News reached out to the Arizona Department of Corrections to learn what kind of supervision conditions Bal was under when he was released from prison this year. At the time of publication, we are still awaiting their response.
Court records also show Bal's prison sentence in Navajo County could have been longer. The Navajo County Attorney's office listed many of Bal's prior felonies in his plea agreement but chose not to prosecute him as a multi-time felon. If they would have, Goulden explains, he could have gone away for a much longer time period than six months.
"Under the sentencing guidelines in the state of Arizona, you can allege one prior, two priors and your sentencing would go up and would be enhanced based on each of those factors," Goulden said.
12News asked the Navajo County Attorney's office why they didn't choose to allege these priors in Bal's prior case. We are still awaiting their response as well.
If convicted on the first-degree murder charge, Bal could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors could also seek the death penalty.
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