Update – December 19, 2019: Learn more about the conviction here. Go here to learn about the results of the aggravation phase.
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The aggravation phase for defendant Ramon Bueno is being held in Maricopa County, Arizona. He was convicted of most charges in the 2014 shooting of now-retired Arizona State Trooper James Casey, but jurors were deadlocked on the most serious count: attempted first-degree murder.
Casey testified at trial. He retired from the force in 2018.
Casey conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for heavily (and possibly illegal) tinted windows on October 8, 2014, authorities said. Bueno, a passenger, allegedly shot the trooper in the left cheek with a .357 Magnum.
Ramon Bueno
This kind of incident would change anyone’s life, but Casey actually returned to work after about 18 months. He told The Bennington Banner he had over a dozen surgeries to fix injuries including losing of part of his nose, and some of his teeth.
“I did not want him to beat me,” he said. “So, I did everything I could to return.”
Casey’s work was showcased on the A&E show Live PD. Here he is, just over two years after getting shot.
(Law&Crime founder Dan Abrams is a host on Live PD. A&E partially owns Law&Crime.)
Bueno pleaded not guilty to charges.
“I didn’t do nothing,” he told CBS 5 in 2014.
Police said he was captured after a manhunt. Girlfriend Valeria Jaime was arrested for allegedly hindering prosecution. Maricopa County court records viewed by Law&Crime show she pleaded guilty to the charge in 2015. Danny Angel Vargas, another passenger in the vehicle, was arrested with Bueno. Records show he pleaded guilty in 2018 in this case to a charge of assisting a street gang.
Update – December 19, 2019, 3:01 p.m.: Updated to reflect that the jurors found Bueno guilty of most charges, but were deadlocked on the most serious charge.
[Image of Casey via the Arizona Department of Public Safety; Mugshot of Bueno via the Phoenix Police Department]