On Tuesday, a Maricopa County judge sentenced Essa Williams to life in prison for shooting Phoenix Police Officer Tyler Moldovan eight times in December 2021. Moldovan was in the courtroom. Five years ago, nobody was sure he would live to see it.
The call
December 14, 2021. 19th Avenue and Camelback Road. Moldovan was 22 and nine months on the job. He and his partner, Officer Zachary Johnson, were looking for a man who had run from a car. It was the kind of call that ends with a lecture and maybe a citation.
Instead, Williams opened fire. Moldovan was hit eight times, twice in the head. Prosecutors told the jury Williams taunted the officers during the attack: "What are ya'll going to do? Ya'll going to lock me up?"
Johnson ran toward the gunfire. He reached his partner, took Williams down and got him into custody. That's the part of the story that rarely makes the headline, and it should.
The recovery
Moldovan wasn't expected to survive. He spent months in hospitals and rehab, with his wife Chelsea beside him. A year later he was talking and breathing on his own. He has said he doesn't remember the shooting, or even that week. His first clear memory is from March 2022.
Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano put it simply outside the courthouse Tuesday: "I watched him ascend stairs, which they told him he would never do again. It's amazing."
The verdict and the sentence
The numbers:
Under one hour: how long the jury deliberated in August before convicting Williams.
Convictions: attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on Moldovan, aggravated assault on Johnson, and two weapons misconduct counts.
The sentence: two life terms. Phoenix PD describes it as 50 years in prison. Other courtroom accounts put first release eligibility at 25 years. Either way, he will be in prison for decades.
Williams' status at the time: on probation for prior felonies.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell didn't soften it. "It is amazing that he was not killed," she said. "The level of violence that Mr. Williams used against him was astounding." On his release before the shooting: "Obviously, in retrospect, no, he should not have been on the streets."
Williams' defense argued self-defense and accused the prosecution and judge of bias. The court denied its mistrial motions. Williams spoke before he was sentenced; his remarks weren't widely reported.
Why it matters
Moldovan's parents spoke in court. So did Moldovan. So did the chief. Giordano said the judge "set a very high bar today with the sentence and sent a clear message to the criminal element."
But the clearer message of this case is the one Johnson sent on December 14, 2021, when he ran in. And the one Moldovan has sent every day since, learning to talk, breathe and walk again.
To Tyler, Chelsea, their families and Officer Johnson: thank you. The Valley hasn't forgotten.
Listen: The Valley 10-8, Episode 8
Hear Tyler's story, Detective Mike Hillman, and the rest of this week in Valley policing on The Valley 10-8.
How we reported this: This story draws on the Phoenix Police Department's Oct. 28 release, public statements from Chief Giordano and County Attorney Mitchell at Tuesday's sentencing, and courtroom reporting by local outlets. Accounts of the minimum term differ (50 years versus parole eligibility at 25), and we will update when the court record settles it. We'd like to hear from anyone who worked alongside Officers Moldovan and Johnson. Write to the desk at [email protected].