An El Mirage man has been sentenced to 26 years in state prison for a campaign of deadly attacks against law enforcement officers in 2021.
Saul Ballardo launched 15 separate attacks against uniformed officers throughout the West Valley from July to December of 2021. In addition to 14 shootings, he also used a drone to try to ram a helicopter operated by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
More than 50 victims were targeted, including officers from El Mirage and Surprise, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, DPS and authorities from the Arizona Department of Transportation.
“He was the most wanted, of all these agencies that were trying to protect their officers because Mr. Ballardo would randomly shoot at police while they were on traffic calls or doing other police activities," said Bart Graves with DPS.
No officers were injured in the attacks, which took place in El Mirage, Surprise, Youngtown and unincorporated areas of Maricopa County. Ballardo pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 26 years in state prison.
