Five charged in officer's death
by KTAR.com (July 30th, 2010 @ 7:03am)

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Five men have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of a Chandler police officer during an undercover drug bust in south Phoenix.
Officer Carlos Ledesma, 34, a father of two, died Thursday night in a gunbattle inside a home near 19th Avenue and Southern. Two other officers were wounded.

Thadika Singleton, 38, John Webb, 37, Doarnell Jackson, 35, Jerry Wayne Cockhearn, 25, and Eldridge Gittens, 34, all were charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, possession of marijuana for sale and burglary. Gittens also faces weapons charges.

One suspect remains hospitalized and charges have not yet been filed against him. Two other suspects were killed during the gunbattle.

One of the wounded officers was released from a Phoenix hospital Thursday. The other remains in stable condition. Their names have not been released.

The three Chandler officers were trying to buy a large quantity of marijuana.

Chandler police said it's unclear what went wrong in the undercover operation. They said they are investigating the possibility that the drug dealers planned to rob the officers, who had hundreds of thousands of dollars on them.

An account for Ledesma's family, set up by Chandler police, has been created at Wells Fargo Bank. It's called the "The Ledesma Memorial Fund."