Thread: Mesa man threatens to kill Sheriff Joe Arpaio with machine gun

Phoenix stolen truck cab driver shot, killed, police say

by Laurie Merrill, Luci Scott, D.S. Woodfill and Mary Drobnik -
Jun. 17, 2012 09:00 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

A Phoenix police officer shot and killed the driver of a stolen city-owned truck cab Sunday morning in Apache Junction, ending a 90-minute spree in which the suspect rammed three police cars in three cities and tried to ram several more, police said.

The driver was identified Sunday evening as Ronald Earl Chante, 51.

Photos from the chase

The bizarre flight began at 8:45 a.m. when Chante stole a Phoenix truck cab, bursting through the locked gate at a Phoenix fire center at 22nd Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road. It ended at 10:15 a.m. at Ironwood Road and Superstition Boulevard, when a Phoenix officer aimed and fired, said Officer James Holmes, a Phoenix police spokesman.

Chante was pronounced dead at the scene, Holmes said.

Chante was arrested by Maricopa County sheriff's deputies a week earlier over allegations he threatened to kill Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

It was not clear why he was out of police custody.

Holmes said he would not speculate on whether Chante had a vendetta against law enforcement, saying investigators "don't know his train of thought."

The eastbound chase on Sunday included at least two wrong-way trips down freeways and the attempted theft of a Chevy Camaro at a Tempe QT convenience store, Holmes said.

Dozens of public-safety officers from Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa and Apache Junction joined the pursuit.

A Phoenix firefighter who followed the truck as it went onto Seventh Avenue just after it was stolen became the first target of Chante's attempted ramming, Holmes said.

Chante made a U-turn on Seventh Avenue, began driving north in the southbound lane and tried to hit the firefighter's vehicle, Holmes said.

A Phoenix police officer joined the chase on Interstate 17, Holmes said. Near 16th Street, Chante "turned the truck around in the middle of the highway and began traveling west in the eastbound lanes."

He tried but failed to hit the officer, exited the freeway and went south on Seventh Avenue, when two other Phoenix officers tried to stop the truck, Holmes said.

"The suspect abruptly stopped in the roadway, put the truck in reverse and rammed one of the officers' police vehicles," Holmes said.

Chante made a U-turn and struck the same car head-on, Holmes said. The officer was bruised but not badly, Holmes said.

Chante headed south to Broadway Road, going east.

As the Phoenix Police Air Unit followed overhead, the driver continuously tried to strike police and firefighters' cars from four cities, Holmes said.

During his trek east, Chante tried to carjack the Camaro at a Tempe QT and rammed the Camaro when he couldn't, police said. He ran numerous red lights and forced panicked pedestrians to flee, police said. He also hit a Mesa patrol unit.

Once in Apache Junction, he ran into the car of an Apache Junction officer, which is when the Phoenix officer fired on the truck, Holmes said.

On June 10, when Chante was accused of threatening Arpaio, Maricopa County deputies were in the process of arresting him on suspicion of criminal damage. He told the deputies that he wanted to "assassinate Arpaio with a machine gun," according to a June 11 news release from the Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's officials said at the time that Chante had a criminal history.

Phoenix stolen truck cab driver shot, killed, police say

What is this, Machete? Seems like 'Ol Joe may be picking up support and it's getting under somebody's skin. * MOD EDIT *