Man sentenced to life in prison for the fatal shooting of a deputy U.S. marshal in Arizona in 2018
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a federal agent in Tucson in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison, authorities said Tuesday.
Ryan Phillip Schlesinger, 31, was not in court for Monday’s sentencing as his lawyers argued for a prison term of less than 50 years.
Schlesinger also received consecutive sentences of 20 years for attempted murder and 50 years for discharging a firearm during the commission of a violent offense.
A jury last November found Schlesinger guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Deputy U.S. Marshal Chase White.
At the time of the fatal November 2018 shooting, the 41-year-old White was just four days away from his deployment in the Air Force Reserve as a lieutenant colonel.
Prosecutors said White, a married father of four, was part of a group of Marshals Service personnel who were trying to serve a felony arrest warrant at Schlesinger’s home.
Schlesinger had been stalking a woman who was a Tucson police sergeant, according to a criminal complaint.
After a standoff with law enforcement that lasted about an hour, authorities said Schlesinger emerged from his northern Tucson home wearing body armor and was taken into custody.
Prosecutors originally sought the death penalty in the case, but they withdrew the motion in August 2022.