Maricopa County Attorney Mitchell explains plea deals for East Valley youth violence suspects

PHOENIX — Suspects in several East Valley youth violence cases have taken plea deals in recent weeks that have resulted in probation, but Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell doesn’t believe they’re getting off easy.

Mitchell told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Thursday that the suspects are pleading guilty to felony charges when in reality, the aggravated assault charges could be classified as misdemeanors.

“What we did was we argued that because there were multiple offenders, that [victims’] ability to resist was impaired. That’s how the law reads,” Mitchell said. “So we were able to get it up to a Class 6 felony. So when they’re pleading to a Class 6 felony, they’re pleading to the charge. They’re not pleading to a reduced charge.”

Even so, Mitchell wants to see heftier penalties for perpetrators of group assaults. The Republican, who is up for election this cycle, said she’s spoken with lawmakers about how to strengthen the law in next year’s legislative session.

“I’ve already talked to one of the representatives, Matt Gress, in the Legislature and he’s agreed to sponsor legislation to increase the penalties where we’re seeing multiple attackers like this so that we’re not dealing with the Class 6 felony,” Mitchell said.

What is a Class 6 felony in Arizona?

A Class 6 felony is the least serious type in the state. It can easily be reduced to a misdemeanor and if not downgraded, carries a maximum of a three-year prison sentence for first-time offenders.

Probation, as in the cases of East Valley youth violence suspects, is a more likely outcome.

“I describe it as a classic sort of the purgatory between misdemeanor and felony,” Mitchell said. “They can be knocked down to misdemeanor, so to get them to plead to a Class 6 felony when they’re charged with that was really to the credit of my wonderful prosecutors that work for me.”

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