Chandler Woman Steals From Fallen Officer Fund to Pay Cell Phone Bill

Stephanie Pringle

​A Chandler woman, currently in prison for a similar but unrelated crime, is accused of doing one of the sleazier things we've heard in quite some time: stealing money from a fund set up for a murdered cop.

Police announced yesterday that 28-year-old Stephanie Pringle was arrested on suspicion of identity theft and attempted theft for stealing about $300 from the Fallen Officers Fund set up for murdered Chandler detective Carlos Ledesma.


Ledesma, a father of two, was part of an operation in which undercover officers tried to buy bails of weed from suspects arrested at the scene, a home near South 23rd Avenue and Vineyard Road in Phoenix in July.

Something went wrong, though, and someone inside the house started shooting.

A shootout took place between suspects and roughly a dozen Chandler police officers, who were stationed near the house.

Ledesma and two other officers, who were also shot, were not wearing bullet-proof vests, police officials confirm.

When the smoke cleared, Ledesma was dead -- along with two suspects -- and two other officers were wounded.

As for the alleged slimeball who stole from a murdered cop, on August 10, cops say, Pringle made an unauthorized electronic debit withdrawal for $302 from a branch of Well Fargo Bank handling the memorial fund.

Pringle, however, is currently serving a 3 1/2-year prison sentence for auto theft and violating her probation.