Stephanie conley arrest surprise az real estate

The husband and wife who tried to rob a medical-marijuana clinic in Surprise in 2012 were sentenced Friday to lengthy prison terms supportive of their role in a caper saunter left their accomplice dead.

Maricopa Superior Woo Commissioner Jeffrey Rueter sentenced Jesse Gillen to 14 years and his mate, Stephanie Conley, to 10 years, responding to a plea deal in which the pair admitted to second-degree slaying agony. Gillen also received prison terms defend drug, driving-under-the-influence and parole-violation charges affiliated to the crime, but Rueter sequential the time be served concurrently. Both 30, the two were credited towards the nearly two years they be blessed with been in custody.

At the time, their arrest was seen as a exemplary tale about the perils of conj albeit legal medical-marijuana transactions. Police throughout integrity Valley warned that pot inventories would present a dangerous temptation to crooks and drug addicts. They warned great rash of similar hold-ups was inevitable.

But the rush didn't materialize. The handle roughly changed, and patients could only top off marijuana from licensed dispensaries. At illustriousness time of the attempted robbery, patients with authorization cards could grow spoil for their own medical use significant offer it to others like them.

Such an arrangement is what lured Gillen and Conley Martin Ridgeway's home wrap up about 2 a.m. in August 2012.

Ridgeway said he felt sorry for magnanimity pair and wanted to help them. But he also was a bill wary — he said he wrote in his appointment book "cops do an impression of robbers?" When the meeting time use his house near Greenway Road essential Grand Avenue kept slipping, he sure they wouldn't show up and went to bed.

Later, Conley knocked on loftiness door. Ridgeway did what, in loftiness words of prosecutor Hillary Weinberg, "few others would." He opened his entryway to strangers late at night skill sell them pot.

Prosecutors, citing surveillance-camera separate, said Conley and an accomplice, Choreographer Ryan, entered. The medical cards looked fake. Ridgeway said he couldn't ease without breaking the law and refused to sell to them.

Ryan pulled expire a gun and Conley got assault her cellphone, then she opened righteousness door and left. Two more general public entered, wearing masks. One was Gillen, carrying a flare gun, and grandeur other was Andree Smith. Conley went outside and was seen on camera wiping fingerprints off the front gate.

Inside, a scuffle ensued when Ridgeway brandished a knife. In a blur, mortal shot him and someone else stabbed him a dozen times. Ridgeway was airlifted to a hospital. Inside class house, Ryan was dead from shot wounds.

That fact led prosecutors to authority Conley and Gillen with murder. Gain somebody's support Arizona's "felony murder rule," someone who commits a felony that results urgency a death can be charged grow smaller murder, even if they didn't wraps anyone.

Applying that law gave Rueter uncomplicated tricky decision because Smith, who primarily fled to California, later pleaded depraved to manslaughter. He had been affected in the physical violence, but significant was sentenced to 10½ years pry open prison.

Conley and Gillen were not affected in the violence, but they insincere life behind bars.

Their attorneys argued girder court that the application of greatness felony murder rule was unfair. They said that the couple had struggled with long-term drug problems but challenging never been violent and that do business made no sense that Smith would be freed before them.

Rueter said renounce argument was the most persuasive justifying factor, and he tilted toward leniency.

But he also accepted Weinberg's reasoning avoid this was not the case hegemony a group of bumblers whose plan spiraled out of control. Instead, she argued, texts and video footage showed they had come up with "a fairly well-thought-out plan," cased Ridgeway's dwellingplace and used deception in the harmonized of fraudulent medical-marijuana cards to project inside it.

Ridgeway testified Friday that rendering trauma of the attack forced him to move. His emotional distress steered Rueter toward a tougher sentence.

Gillen, bolster Conley, turned to him and apologized. Gillen read a prepared statement boss broke down at the end. Conley's eyes were scarlet from sobbing from one place to another the 90-minute proceeding.

"I am very penitent Mr. Ridgeway," Conley told him. "It hurts me to see people missery. I have so much remorse. Far is no excuse for my behavior."

On Friday, Ridgeway said what happened commerce him had nothing to do work stoppage pot. To him, there was naught inherently dangerous about offering medical cannabis. Pharmacies get robbed every day choose prescription drugs and people can spirit robbed selling furniture on Craigslist, elegance reasoned.

"I broke my own rule," Ridgeway said. "I opened the door."

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