Prosecutors have rejected a 2023 trial against the suspect in the Phoenix police shooting

PHOENIX (AZFamily) – Arizona’s Family Investigates has learned that Phoenix police arrested Saul Bal and booked him into a Maricopa County jail in May 2023.

They recommended charges of drug offense, burglary and trespassing.

But the case never went to trial. It never even led to charges. Instead, it literally disappeared from the public record.

The crimes he was accused of could have resulted in a seven-year prison sentence, but Bal was released from prison.

According to Phoenix police, he shot two officers Tuesday night who responded to a 911 call that someone had broken into a car in downtown Phoenix.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office confirmed that it received the indictment from Phoenix police in May 2023.

“We have returned the case to the police for analysis in the drug laboratory,” said an MCAO spokesman.

We do not know if this analysis was ever conducted, but there is no evidence that this charge was ever brought.

In fact, there is no report of the arrest readily available to the press or the public.

It does not appear on the Arizona Department of Justice’s Public Access to Court Information list.

Most misdemeanor and felony cases appear there in a searchable database.

It does not appear on the Maricopa County Superior Court’s searchable website.

It does not appear on the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office’s Mugshot Lookup website, which lists recently arrested people.

As in other cases where the police recommend bringing charges but the prosecution refuses, this case has gone virtually unnoticed by the public.

But Arizona’s Family Investigates has obtained a downloaded copy of the mugshot and arrest information, which was released on May 4, 2023.

This was not the first time that charges against Bal were dropped.

Arizona’s Family Investigates investigated 40 charges against Sol over the past 17 years. At least 18 of those charges have been dropped.

Records from Phoenix Municipal Court, Navajo County Superior Court, Pinal County, Casa Grande Justice Court, Yuma Municipal Court and Orange County (California) show charges ranging from trespassing to aggravated assault on a police officer.

Sol was sentenced to prison several times in Arizona and served two years in prison in California.

His most recent prison sentence resulted from an arrest in July 2023, just two months after his case was dismissed in Maricopa County.

Bal was arrested for drug paraphernalia in Navajo County. He was sentenced to six months in prison in April 2024 and served three months.

His parole ended on September 5, two days after the shooting.

Had the burglary, trespassing and drug case been prosecuted in Maricopa County, Bal would likely have been in prison at the time of the shooting.

“I don’t really want to talk about the suspect because he doesn’t deserve our attention. But I’m telling you, it’s outrageous that someone with as long a criminal history as he has is allowed to continue to be in the public eye. I mean, he’s shown that he’s a burden on society and not a positive influence,” said Darrell Kriplean, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association.

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