Grand jury indicts man on charges connected with crash that killed Chandler police officer in April

Suspect in crash that killed Chandler police officer indicted by grand jury

25-year-old Jonathon Altland is facing 32 charges, including first-degree murder, following a police chase on April 29 that ended with a crash on April 30, which killed Chandler police officer Christopher Farrar and injured another officer with the Gilbert Police Department.

PHOENIX - The man accused of killing a Chandler police officer and badly hurting a Gilbert officer has been indicted by a grand jury in Maricopa County.

25-year-old Jonathon Altland is facing 32 charges, including first-degree murder.

The incident happened on the night of April 29, and ended on April 30. Gilbert Police officials and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said a pursuit began at about 10:00 p.m., when a sheriff's deputy tried to pull over a speeding vehicle near Eloy, and then reported he'd been shot at.

The chase ended up in Chandler Airport, where the suspect driver busted through one of the gates, causing the facility to briefly shut down.

As multiple law enforcement agencies continued to try to take the suspect into custody, the driver ended up getting onto the Loop 202 freeway while driving the wrong way. He eventually crashed near the Val Vista Drive on-ramp.

Officials say the suspect then fled on foot and stole a truck from a Ford dealership at SanTan Motorplex, hitting two officers and one of the dealership janitors.

Chandler officer Christopher Farrar

One of the officers was Officer Christopher Farrar, who later died from his injuries. Officer Farrar's funeral was held on May 8.

As for the other officer who was caught up in the crash at the dealership, he was identified as Gilbert police officer Rico Aranda.

Aranda's wife, Idalia Ontiveros, said on May 5 that her husband is making great progress in his recovery, and remains upbeat. She is grateful for the support that her family has received since the incident.