By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A jury has decided the fate of a man accused of shooting a Phoenix police officer eight times in 2021.
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Essa Williams was found guilty on all counts Thursday, Maricopa County Superior Court officials said.
Court officials said the jury deliberated for less than an hour.
“We remain grateful for the work of the investigative team, our law enforcement partners, the prosecutors and everyone who supported this case from the beginning,” a Phoenix police spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “While today’s verdict provides an important measure of accountability, it does not erase the impact this incident has had.”
On Dec. 14, 2021, nine months into the job, rookie Officer Tyler 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.
Williams was also planning to shoot Johnson before Johnson tackled him and took him into custody.
Officer Moldovan spent months in the hospital and underwent rehabilitation following the shooting. Moldovan, who was given little chance of living after the shooting, had to undergo daily therapy.
Although their lives have been forever changed and the road to recovery has been challenging, Moldovan’s wife, Chelsea, said they have remained grateful.
Williams was a parolee with nine prior felony convictions at the time of the shooting and was legally banned from having a gun.
A jury is scheduled to reconvene on Aug. 25 for the aggravation phase.
The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) gave the following statement to Arizona’s Family after the verdict.
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“The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association is grateful that a jury found Essa Williams guilty on all counts for the brutal and calculated shooting of Phoenix Police Officer Tyler Moldovan in 2021.
”Officer Moldovan was shot repeatedly and left fighting for his life simply because he put on a uniform and went to work protecting this community. His survival is nothing short of a miracle, but no verdict can undo what was done to him or erase the physical and emotional toll that Tyler and his family will carry for the rest of their lives.
“This verdict sends an unmistakable message: those who deliberately attack and attempt to murder police officers must be held fully accountable. There can be no excuses or minimizing the violence that overshadows the suffering of Tyler and his family whose lives were forever changed.
“Tyler Moldovan represents the courage and sacrifice we ask of our police officers every single day.
“Today, after years of waiting, a jury delivered the accountability that Tyler, his family, his fellow officers, and this community deserved.”
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