By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The man who shot and severely wounded a Phoenix police officer nearly five years ago will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
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Tuesday afternoon, Essa Williams received two consecutive life sentences in prison plus an additional 25 years in connection with the 2021 shooting of Phoenix Police Officer Tyler Moldovan. He won’t be eligible for parole for 25 years.
Moldovan’s family and law enforcement showed up in court in support of him. More than a dozen people spoke before a judge handed down the sentence.
Moldovan spoke first during victim impact statements. He used a walker to reach the stand and described how the morning of Dec. 14, 2021, changed his life and those around him.
He said he has had 20 outpatient doctors, seven surgeries and countless procedures. He said he is relearning how to breathe and blink, and lives with constant burning.
“It’s impossible to convey all the hardships we have had to endure. The burden is so heavy; the problems are so big. Every day feels like a struggle and a battle that I just can’t seem to win. I hope that some day I can return to some sort of normalcy,” Moldovan said.
He asked that Williams spend the rest of his life in prison.
Chelsea Moldovan, Tyler’s wife, wanted the maximum for Williams.
“He deserves the maximum time because our life sentence started the minute he raised his gun,” she told the judge.
She spent their first Christmas as a married couple in an ICU recliner, and their dreams of becoming parents were shattered.
Adina Moldovan, Tyler’s mother, had another message for Williams.
“I forgive you. We forgive you, and we accept you,” she said. “I forgive you because God who saved my son’s life taught us to forgive.”
But she also said she saw no remorse from Williams as he was “smiling and chewing gum” in court.
Williams’ defiance
Williams had a chance to address the judge before the sentence was handed down and claimed self-defense. He said he acted out of fear because he was a Black man at 2 a.m. in December 2021 being followed by a car with no lights.
“I watched him reach for his weapon and me to defend my life,” Williams said.
Phoenix police said Williams ran off after being spotted doing donuts with another driver. They said they found him in a covered patio inside the apartment complex near 15th Avenue and Camelback Road. He said the police created the whole situation.
“Members of this squad intentionally skipped conducting a safe and simple traffic stop and chose to stir the honey pot, freak me out and make it happen,” Williams said.
He said he is thankful that Tyler is still alive.
“I am sorry all of this happened, because it should have never should have, and I forgive you, and I hope you can forgive me as well – by Tyler and his family and my family,” Williams said.
“The message is clear”
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano said they were pleased with the sentence and that the case sends a message that violence against police won’t be tolerated in the Valley.
“I think the message is clear that, you know, not only will the police step up to defend themselves with an investigation and the county attorney’s office will prosecute but members of society that sat on the jury are not going to tolerate this kind of violence against the police. You know, this actually happened before I was county attorney, and I actually was one of the prosecutors who responded to the scene that early morning. And it is amazing that he was not killed. I’m so grateful that he was not,” Mitchell said outside the courthouse.
In August, Williams was convicted of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of misconduct involving weapons. The jury reached the verdict after less than one hour of deliberations.
He later waived his right to the aggravation phase of the case, avoiding a separate jury hearing on factors that could have increased his prison sentence.
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Moldovan shot 8 times, survives
On Dec. 14, 2021, nine months into the job, rookie Officer Moldovan and his partner, Officer Zach Johnson, responded to a call about cars doing donuts near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road.
Williams shot Moldovan eight times during that response, including once to the head.
“I turned around; I didn’t see my partner,” Johnson said during the July trial. “I sprinted back to where I last saw my partner in the direction of the gunshots, and that’s where I see him on top of my partner.”
Williams was also planning to shoot Johnson before the officer tackled him and took him into custody, court documents say.
Moldovan was given little chance to live, but miraculously survived. He spent months in the hospital, undergoing extensive rehabilitation and daily therapy. Just a year after the shooting, his wife Chelsea said he was talking and breathing on his own.
During the trial, Moldovan described the injuries he sustained from the violent encounter. He told the courtroom he had multiple gunshot wounds, including two to his head — one to the right side behind the ear and one to the left side behind the ear — as well as injuries to his shoulder, thumb, wrist, hip and legs. He said the head wounds caused brainstem injuries.
The young officer said his earliest memory from after the incident was March 2022, three months after the shooting.
“I really don’t remember anything about that day. Even that week is kind of blurry,” Moldovan said in a 2022 interview. “I would say maybe March-ish, I was mentally starting to understand what was going on, and then I was like, ‘OK, I got hurt on the job.’”
Conflicting versions of events during trial
Prosecutors described Williams telling Moldovan, “‘What are ya’ll going to do? Ya’ll going to lock me up?’” before firing 15 rounds at Moldovan. Defense attorneys immediately objected, arguing the prosecutor’s delivery stereotyped Williams.
The judge overruled the objection, and the defense called on the judge to recuse himself, claiming he was “clearly biased.”
Prosecutors said that evidence showed Williams shot Moldovan while attempting to escape, but the defense claimed that Williams acted in self-defense.
The defense made repeated requests for a mistrial, arguing prosecutors used inflammatory language and alleged “blatant racism.” Those requests were denied.
Violent criminal history
Williams was a parolee with nine prior felony convictions at the time of the shooting and was legally banned from having a gun.
Williams’s mother and girlfriend later pleaded guilty to providing him with guns, though none of those weapons were used in the shooting.
“In retrospect, no. He should not have been on the streets. And he was on probation for felonies and hindsight is 20/20. Obviously, he should not have been,” said Mitchell.
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