PHOENIX — A man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for an "ambush" attack last year that wounded a Phoenix police officer, officials said.
Joseph Lopez, 30, recently received the maximum possible sentence after he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
Lopez wounded Phoenix Police Officer Morgan Bullis on March 24, 2023, as the officer was responding to a car crash.
Lopez ambushed the officer and fired five shots before running to a nearby apartment complex and barricading himself inside. Bullis sustained a serious injury to her hip.
The officer recovered from her injuries and later returned to work.
MCAO described Lopez as a "street gang member" with five prior felony convictions on his record.
*Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.*
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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.