Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Wednesday his office requested a warrant of execution for Arizona death row inmate Aaron Gunches.
“The rule of law is for all of our society to uphold,” said Brnovich. “We must never cease to pursue justice for victims, their families, and our communities.”
In November, Gunches, who is 51, requested the Arizona Supreme Court issue him a death warrant.
Justice Kathryn King demanded the state reply to Gunches’ request by Wednesday, and he would have until December 20th to respond. Once everyone has made their statements, the Supreme Court will consider Gunches’ request.
According to the motion, Gunches filed, he alleged he wants his sentence carried out “so that justice may be lawfully served and give closure to the victim’s family.”
According to court documents, Gunches’ crime occurred in 2002, when Ted Price, the ex-husband of Gunches’ at-the-time girlfriend, Katherine Lecher, came to visit Lecher at her Mesa apartment. After ten days, Price and Lecher began to fight, and he was told to leave. Lecher eventually hit Price with a telephone; he remained conscious but unresponsive. Gunches arrived at the apartment and asked Lecher’s two roommates, Michelle Beck, and Jennifer Garcia, to help move Price out. The residents put Price and his belongings into Lecher’s car, and Gunches asked Garcia to drive them to a bus station, although Price would never get on one.
After arriving, Gunches said he did not have money for a bus pass and told Garcia to keep driving the three of them, eventually stopping in a dark, isolated desert area. Gunches got out of the car to look in the trunk. At the same time, Price got out of the vehicle. Garcia described hearing three “popping sounds” and then saw Price fall to the ground before hearing another pop as Gunches stood by Price with a gun at his side. The body was left in the desert, and the two dumped his belongings in a dumpster before returning to Mesa.
Detectives found Price’s body several days later with gunshot wounds in his chest. A medical examination determined that the shots were fired at least two feet away. Investigators contacted and interviewed Lecher and her roommates, with Beck pointing them in Gunches’ direction. At the same time, Gunches was arrested for shooting at a law enforcement officer, and his gun was matched with the one used to kill Price.
Gunches was indicted for first-degree murder and kidnapping in 2003 and pleaded guilty in 2007. The jury found Price’s murder was committed in an “especially heinous or depraved manner,” leading to his death sentence.
If the state decides to seek a warrant, and the court was to grant it, it would still be another 35 days after that decision before the execution would take place. Therefore, Gov. Doug Ducey (R) and Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) would not be in office when execution time comes. The responsibility would instead fall on Governor-elect Katie Hobbs (D) and Attorney General-elect Kris Mayes.
The Arizona Sun Times reached out to Mayes and Hobbs for a comment but did not hear back.
Previously, Mayes told AZ Central that the death penalty is part of Arizona law, and as attorney general, she will “faithfully enforce” the law.
In total, 110 inmates are on Arizona’s death row, and Gunches is one of 21 members who have exhausted their appeals.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Aaron Gunches” by Arizona Department of Corrections.Â
