Arizona
Ted Price's family speaking out as battle over executions brew in Arizona
The battle over executions is once again brewing in Arizona. This comes after a two-year-long hiatus while an independent review was taking place.
In November, Governor Katie Hobbs fired the retired Judge appointed to oversee the review, and the State Attorney General said the intention was to seek a warrant of execution for Aaron Gunches. Gunches is on death row for the 2002 murder of Ted Price.
Prices’ sisters spoke exclusively to ABC15, as they wait to see if this will be their final chapter involving their brother’s killer.
Murder of Ted Price
Ted Price was a 40-year-old father of two, who had been previously married. His life would be cut short after leaving his family in Utah and coming to the Valley at the end of 2002. He had plans to attend school and temporarily stay with his former partner.
“So that’s my last picture of Ted,” said his sister Karen Price.
The picture shows her brother waving goodbye, something Karen feels is now ironic. But those photos and memories are all they have left of Ted, who was the oldest of four.
“He left on a bus on the 17th of November,” said Karen.
But the Price family never heard from him. Ted’s sisters eventually called anyone they could trying to find their brother.
“I would spend the days calling hospitals and police detectives and stuff like that, trying to get somebody to listen,” said Ted’s other sister Shelia Banaszek.
But Banaszek said never in her wildest dreams could she imagine what happened.
Court documents and thousands of pages from police interviews paint a contentious relationship. Price’s sisters told ABC15 their brother didn’t approve of his partner’s actions or parenting decisions.
She ultimately wanted Ted to leave, and during a heated argument hit Ted in the face with a phone. But it was Aaron Gunches who shot and killed Ted off Highway 87 near Gilbert Road.
“We found out on the 30th of December that he had passed,” said Banaszek. “And then at that time, we didn’t even know how he had passed.”
It would be months until Gunches was indicted for Ted’s murder. During that time, he was arrested for shooting a DPS trooper near the California border.
That trooper survived, and Gunches pleaded guilty in both cases.
Ted’s family was there through each court hurdle including the sentencing phase, which happened twice. Ultimately, Gunches was sentenced to death in 2013.
“The possibility of an execution, I didn’t think it would happen for decades,” said Karen.
Legal battles continue
But in early 2023, Gunches was set to be executed. It was a date that would come and go. Governor Hobbs said the state wasn’t ready and ordered a review of Arizona’s death penalty protocols.
“It’s like a slap in the face,” said Banaszek. “Basically, a slap in the face. It’s a big letdown.”
Karen and Ted’s own daughter even filed lawsuits, but they were left waiting until November 2024. That’s when Governor Hobbs fired the Judge working on the review. Attorney General Kris Mayes called the Price family.
“She said, we’re going to issue his warrant,” said Karen. “And I thanked her.”
Karen said she is hoping now Gunches’ sentence will be carried out.
“All could say to the people who have very strong opinions about the death penalty and are against it, is walk in my shoes and then tell me how you feel,” said Karen.
She knows each family member has their own opinions and feelings, but Karen wants to be in Arizona that day
“I mean, it needs to be over,” said Banaszek. “I don’t know that that’ll make a difference. As I said, the nightmares, the nightmare that won’t ever go away.”
Ted’s sisters sat down with ABC15, hoping to bring some of the focus back to their brother.
“He should be brought back to the forefront, and somebody ought to think about that victim,” said Karen
“I want everybody to remember a very genuinely good person was taken away that day,” said Banaszek.
Calls for transparency
The Price family represents the personal side of this complex topic.
In 2024 the Arizona Department of Corrections documented their own review, listing changes they made to their protocol. The director told the governor they were prepared to resume executions.
The Judge who was carrying out the independent review was David Duncan. Despite Gov. Hobbs firing him, Duncan’s working rough draft was released. It cited various concerns including about the execution team, chain of commands, and storage of lethal drugs.
“The whole point of the independent review is that you take the Department of Corrections out of it, you need independence in this type of review,” said ACLU of Arizona Legal Director Jared Keenan. “The Governor and the AG themselves said they need an independent review. And now suddenly they are telling us no, no, no, never mind, just trust us. And that’s not good enough.”
The ACLU was one of the organizations that held a press conference in December calling for more transparency.
All of this is happening as the State Supreme Court considers a motion by AG Mayes to set a briefing schedule, which could ultimately lead to a request for a warrant of execution.
Gunches, who is representing himself, has already asked the court to speed up that process and issue the warrant. The death row inmate, in a hand-written note, even noting a possible execution date of February 14.
ABC15’s Ashley Holden spoke with the ACLU and people tracking executions all over the country. She will have more on the battle brewing here in Arizona in the coming days.
Stay with ABC15 for the latest on the case.
MARANA, AZ (AZFamily) — Proposals for data centers and ICE detention facilities in Marana are dividing neighbors and turning some against their local leaders.
These are two issues that some Republicans and Democrats are finding themselves agreeing on, as people try to take charge of who and what ends up in their communities.
“Well, first I think everyone on our city council needs to be replaced. What they are doing to Marana and surrounding areas is destroying our future and our kids’ futures,” a Marana resident said.
A recent proposal by the Department of Homeland Security would create an ICE detention center about 3 miles from the community center.
The property proposed for the ICE facility was a minimum-security prison with a capacity of about 500 people. The release said that renovations will increase capacity to 775, but could expand to over 1,300.
DHS officials say the facility would include more exam rooms, a dental area, and other features.
Arizona’s Family asked DHS for some clarification on those numbers and details. DHS released a statement saying, “ICE does not discuss individual pre-decisional conversations, but when a new facility contract is finalized, information will be available on ICE.gov.”
Data center concerns
Meanwhile, a rezoning application for a data center surfaced on the Town of Marana’s website last week.
It’s the second potential data center in the area and has people itching to get to public comment to voice their concerns.
“The detention center- we don’t need that here; no one wants that here. The data center- I mean, we already don’t have water and it’s awful; we don’t need another data center. Look at the ones across the country and what they’re doing,” the Marana resident we spoke with said.
Marana Town Manager Terry Rozema said nothing is set in stone.
“There’s so many factors that could come into considering whether or not something is beneficial to a community,” Rozema said.
Supporters of these projects said they will create jobs.
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The Pocket Fire burning north of Sedona and sending smoke and ash into Flagstaff has been tricky for firefighters to access because of the steep and narrow terrain through canyons and along cliffsides. These same landscape features mean that many others watching the fire’s rapid progress from afar have worried with little information about which of their favorite hiking trails and scenic viewpoints near Oak Creek Canyon may not look the same again in their lifetimes.
On June 30, the fire perimeter had exceeded 15,000 acres after growing about 4,000 acres overnight. This expansion took the shape of a finger jutting to the west from near the southern edge of the fire while the northern edge broadened along Forest Service Road 9042, where firefighter crews worked to hold it.
For residents of Kachina Village, the community most in the path of the fire’s recent growth and one known to be particularly vulnerable to fire, that northern progress being redirected east and west along the firebreak road was something to celebrate.
For others, fears and questions about singed trails, camping spots, homes and businesses remain.
What is clear is that parts of the distant edge of the popular West Fork trail, which starts at West Fork Trailhead off of U.S. 89A through Oak Creek Canyon and follows West Fork Oak Creek as it twists and turns between stunning red rock canyon walls, are within the Pocket Fire’s active perimeter. The popular panoramic vista from the “Edge of the World” viewpoint in East Pocket off Forest Road 231 was also enveloped by the fire in its early days.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean these areas are unrecoverable as scenic and beloved recreation spots. Wildfires frequently burn discontinuously through forested landscapes, as embers send out new sparks to distant forest patches. So the damage severity from the Pocket Fire in many places is not yet known.
After the Dragon Bravo fire burned 150,000 acres near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 2025, a Burn Area Emergency Response team concluded months later that only 1% of the 71,000 park-managed acres within the perimeter showed evidence of a “high severity” burn. The rest had better odds of ecological recovery.
To prevent a need for too much of that in one of the Sedona area’s most treasured spots, though, crews on the Pocket Fire have worked out a “really solid plan to protect all of our identified values and to keep fire out of the bottom of Oak Creek Canyon,” said operations section chief trainee Clyde England of the Southwest Incident Management Team in his morning briefing about the fire on June 30.
England emphasized that crews were focused on keeping the fire out of the West Fork drainage, by conducting backburning efforts and building a buffer on the east side, while limiting progress north toward Kachina Village. They are also working with the Arizona Department of Transportation to remove hazard trees along the roadway, so there is “one less risk we have to worry about” if the fire does jump down into Oak Creek Canyon.
“I want to reiterate that the threat component is still there, as fire is coming down into West Fork,” England said. “There is still a potential for the fire to find some fuels and get some alignment with the winds out of the canyon. We don’t anticipate it. That’s why we still got a big presence up there, just in case some unforeseen event pushes some fire out up on the ridge into that (eastern) corner.”
Another area the team is watching is along the southern edge of the fire in Dry Creek near Bear Sign Canyon, the site of a popular 7-mile hiking trail that passes through “a carpet of ferns with views of white Coconino sandstone cliffs,” according to a nearby business offering lodging for hikers. England said the team has been able to “insert people” into that area over the past few days to build hand lines and work with helicopters on bucket drops to help prevent the fire from spreading to the Seven Canyons area and Enchantment Golf Resort.
The historic Fernow Cabin, a former U.S. Forest Service guard station, is also safe so far, England said, thanks to defensive firing by crews over the weekend that will continue for a few more days to keep the structure intact.
On the northwest edge of the fire, a containment line along Forest Service road 231 is “looking really good,” England said, with a recent expansion of the fire map there reflecting defensive fire efforts rather than wildfire growth. That effort will help protect the power lines to communities in Oak Creek from damage. Fire retardant drops and reinforced dozer and hand lines have helped prevent the fire from progressing over the 536 or 535 roads.
“If we can get it down in this canyon, use the weather patterns, the fuels, the rocky terrain to our advantage, we can find a way to choke that out,” England said. “So our ops are all looking good, our confidence is there.”
Addressing the southwestern corner of the Pocket Fire perimeter, England struck a more somber tone, acknowledging expansion of flames across Round Top Mountain toward Secret Canyon.
That’s the reality of wildfire in the American Southwest, scientists say, in an age of the drying and warming influences of climate change combined with ever-expanding human development and juxtaposed against federal funding cuts.
“The anticipation is that some of this fire will be on the landscape for a while,” he said. “There’s just no access and no way to get folks into that country. You might see that fire and that smoke for a while.”
Joan Meiners is the climate news and storytelling reporter at The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Send tips or questions to joan.meiners@arizonarepublic.com or follow her work on Instagram at @joan_bikes_arizona.
Have a news tip? Contact The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com at newstips@arizonarepublic.com.
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Arizona Republic
Flags were lowered in Arizona on Tuesday, June 30, in honor of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who died fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013.
Gov. Katie Hobbs ordered flags be flown at half-staff from sunrise through sunset on Tuesday to honor them on the 13th anniversary of their death.
Sparked by a lighting strike, the Yarnell fire became nationally known as an emblem of tragedy. The crew, which was part of a unique municipal-level firefighting effort, was encircled by flames reaching 2,000 degrees with no way out. All but one of them died.
The blaze was the deadliest for U.S. firefighters since 1933 and the greatest loss of U.S. firefighter life since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“Hotshot crews take on dangerous and difficult firefighting to keep Arizona communities safe,” Hobbs wrote in her a statement. “We recognize and honor the sacrifice and bravery of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. This will always be a day we mark with mourning, reflection, and deep admiration for the members of this crew, their families, and the wildland firefighting community.”
Here’s when flags are traditionally lowered in the United States and the difference between half-mast and half-staff.
What is the difference between half-mast and half-staff?
The terms “half-mast” and “half-staff” both refer to lowering a flag to honor or mourn someone, but they are used in different settings.
“Half-mast” traditionally refers to flags flown on ships or at naval stations, while “half-staff” is used for flags flown on land. In the United States, “half-staff” is the term most commonly used for government buildings and public flag displays.
When are flags flown at half-staff in the US?
In the United States, flags are lowered to half-staff on certain national observances and following the deaths of notable public officials.
According to the Arizona state website, the U.S. flag is flown at half-staff on these days:
- Memorial Day, when the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.
- Peace Officers Memorial Day, unless that day is also Armed Forces Day.
- Patriot Day.
- National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
- National Firefighters Memorial Day.
The president of the United States may also order flags to be flown at half-staff after the death of a notable public figure. In those cases, the length of time depends on the person’s role:
- 30 days from the death of the president or a former president.
- 10 days from the day of death of the vice president, the chief justice or a retired chief justice of the United States, or the speaker of the House of Representatives.
- From the day of death until the interment of an associate justice of the Supreme Court, a secretary of an executive or military department, a former vice president or the governor of a state.
- The day of death and the following day for a member of Congress.
The governor may also order flags lowered to half-staff after the death of notable current or former government officials or members of the armed forces who die while on active duty.
In Arizona, the governor can also require that the state flag be lowered at all state, institutional and educational buildings. The law also allows the state flag to be lowered on the death of an incumbent elected state officer for seven days beginning on the day following the death of the officer.
Arizona Republic reporter Laura Gersony contributed to this article.
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