# Aaron Gunches

Aaron Brian Gunches (June 30, 1971 – March 19, 2025) was an American prisoner on death row at Arizona State Prison in Florence, Arizona, after being convicted of the 2002 murder of Ted Price. Gunches attracted notoriety for repeatedly requesting his own execution and criticizing the state of Arizona for not doing so.

## Crimes

On November 14, 2002, Gunches went to his girlfriend's home in Mesa, Arizona. Upon arrival, he discovered that she had been involved in an altercation with her ex-husband, Ted Price, who had come to visit her earlier that day. Price had been struck in the face with a telephone and lay on the floor in a daze. Gunches then had his girlfriend and her roommates help load Price into his car, with the supposed intention to drop him off at a bus station. However, Gunches soon realized he did not have the money to buy Price a bus ticket. Gunches and an acquaintance then drove Price out into the desert off the Beeline Highway. As Price exited the car, Gunches shot him four times, killing him.
According to his sister, Price's ex-wife Kat was addicted to methamphetamine and was living in a squalor with the two children she had with Ted. On the day of the murder, Ted allegedly threatened to call child protective services on Kat, accusing her of neglecting their kids. In response, Kat called Gunches, her drug dealer at the time, and asked him to "take care" of the situation.
On January 15, 2003, Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer Robert Flannery pulled over Gunches in his car during a routine traffic stop. Gunches then fired at Flannery and shot him twice. He then fled the scene. Flannery was injured in the shooting but survived. After the shooting, a manhunt involving over fifty lawmen began. Gunches was arrested the day after the shooting and was found hiding in a haystack in Wenden. He was taken into custody and was charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder.

## Trial

In 2004, Gunches pleaded guilty to the murder of Ted Price. In 2008, Gunches was sentenced to death.

## Death warrant and execution

In November 2022, Gunches represented himself and asked the Arizona Supreme Court to issue his execution warrant so that justice could be served and the victims could get closure. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked the Arizona Supreme Court to issue a warrant for Gunches' execution. In January 2023, Gunches withdrew his request, saying recent executions were "torture." Attorney General Kris Mayes took office and on January 20, 2023, newly elected Governor of Arizona Katie Hobbs ordered a review of the state's death penalty protocols. Mayes attempted to withdraw Brnovich's request for the warrant, but on March 2, 2023, the court issued the warrant for April 6, 2023, stating that it must issue the warrant after certain appellate proceedings were concluded. Following the issuance, Governor Hobbs stated that the warrant authorized the execution of Gunches but did not require the state to carry out the execution. Karen Price, Ted Price's sister, then submitted a petition for special action asking the Arizona Supreme Court to direct Hobbs to carry out the warrant. Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell filed an amicus curiae brief supporting Karen Price's petition. Hobbs filed a motion stating the court should not consider Karen Price's motion because the state is not prepared to carry out an execution in a constitutionally sound manner and lacks correctional staff with proper expertise. Arizona Department of Corrections Director Ryan Thornell said he was "unable to find enough documentation to understand key elements of the execution process and instead has had to piece information together through conversations with employees present at past executions."
The Arizona Supreme Court denied the request to extend the warrant or order the State to execute Gunches and the warrant expired in April 2023.
On June 5, 2024, another request for Gunches' execution warrant was filed by Maricopa County. Attorney General Mayes moved to strike the motion, arguing that Mitchell could not file such a request. The Arizona Supreme Court set a briefing schedule that was scheduled to conclude in August 2024. However, Attorney General Mayes announced on November 27, that she would request another warrant for Gunches within two weeks.

### 2025 death warrant

In early January 2025, Gunches again submitted a written request to be executed. He specifically requested the process be expedited, to a mid-February execution date, and criticized the Arizona court system for dragging its feet in carrying out the execution. Gunches asked to skip the "legal formalities" of approving his execution. On January 10, the state attorney general filed a motion to seek an execution warrant, and on February 11, the Arizona Supreme Court issued the warrant, scheduling Gunches's execution date for March 19, 2025.
After the warrant was issued, Gunches confirmed that he would not ask for a reprieve and that he still wanted his execution to proceed.
Following the execution of Jessie Hoffman Jr. on March 18, 2025, Aaron Gunches was one of four inmates scheduled to be executed over a three-day period, from March 18 to March 20, 2025. The other two were: Edward Thomas James of Florida (March 20, 2025), and Wendell Grissom of Oklahoma (March 20, 2025).

### Execution

Gunches's execution took place on March 19, 2025 at the Florence State Prison. He was executed by lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 10:33 MST. His last meal consisted of a double western burger, spicy gyros, onion rings and baklava. Gunches’s gave no final statement.