Clinton Hurley receives life sentence for fatally beating MCSO Deputy Johnny Ruiz

PHOENIX – The man who beat a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputy to death over three years ago was sentenced to life in prison on Friday, authorities announced.

Clinton Hurley previously pleaded guilty on 16 counts, including first-degree murder, related to the death of Deputy Juan “Johnny” Ruiz.

The deadly assault took place in an MCSO substation in Avondale on Oct. 9, 2021, after Hurley was arrested on multiple felony warrants.

The attack occurred after Ruiz removed Hurley’s handcuffs to place him in a cell. Hurley punched Ruiz repeatedly and hit him several times with the blunt end of a pair of medical shears, according to prosecutors.

Ruiz never regained consciousness and died days later at a hospital.

“My thoughts and prayers are with Sheriff’s Deputy Juan Ruiz’s family during this difficult time,” Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said in a press release. “I hope they find some measure of peace in knowing that they will always be part of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office family.”

After the assault, Hurley stole Ruiz’s patrol car and a gun inside it. While on the run, he tried carjacking a truck before stealing a car, prosecutors said.

How was Clinton Hurley taken into custody?

Hurley was captured that night after he tried breaking into a Tonopah residence and the homeowner shot him. Hurley was hospitalized for several days and booked into jail upon his release.

On Dec. 18, 2024, Hurley pleaded guilty to the following felony charges:

• First-degree murder, one count
• Armed robbery, two counts
• Theft, one count
• Aggravated assault, three counts
• Attempt to commit armed robbery, four counts
• Vehicle theft, two counts
• Robbery, one count
• Escape in the first degree, one count
• Misconduct involving weapons, one count

“I have said this many times and I’m going to say it again: We must protect our men and women in law enforcement and never tolerate violence against them,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the release.

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