KINGMAN – A Mohave County Superior Court trial jury swiftly convicted a Kingman man who now faces life behind bars for leading a law enforcement pursuit that ended in the death of a citizen.
The panel deliberated for only a half hour Monday before finding Juan Ortiz, 44, guilty of murder, aggravated assault, unlawful flight and criminal damage charges.
Ortiz successfully eluded a police chase that was terminated for public safety on January 4, 2024. Authorities spotted the suspect vehicle and used unmarked law enforcement units to box it in at both ends of an Airway Avenue car wash bay three weeks later.
Deputy county attorney James Schoppmann told the jury that Ortiz used his vehicle to ram both unmarked units, to create space to flee. The prosecutor said a ten-minute chase ensued with Ortiz running a red light at 60 miles an hour and striking a civilian vehicle at the intersection of Bank Street and Northern Avenue.
The driver of the other vehicle, Sarah Bingham, 21, Kingman, was fatally injured. Authorities have said Bingham was on the job and delivering pizza when she was killed.
Schoppmann said Ortiz faces a life prison term for the murder charge alone, and years more for the other convictions when sentenced by Judge Derek Carlisle on April 4.
Dave Hawkins
