SHOW LOW – Shawn Michael Chock, 35, of White Mountain Lakes, was charged by the Navajo County Attorney with 20 capital felons arising out of his alleged actions during the 13th annual Bike the Bluff championship road race along Deuce of Clubs Boulevard on June 19 . Chock is considered innocent by law.
On July 2, before the Tuesday edition of the newspaper went to press, prosecutors filed a direct complaint against Chock with the Navajo County High Court. A direct complaint is made by prosecutors based on police reports and testimony that suggest a likely cause of indictment. The other way criminal offenses begin is on indictment, which is decided by a grand jury after the prosecutor presents evidence. Navajo County sets up a grand jury for serious crimes and it is likely that the direct complaint will be “replaced” with a grand jury indictment in the near future. If so, a Supreme Court judge would have examined the direct complaint and signed an arrest warrant for Chock, which landed Chock in Flagstaff Prison.
The lawsuit initially lists ten cases of grievous bodily harm with a lethal weapon or dangerous instrument. Arizona law regards a vehicle as a lethal weapon when used as claimed in this case. It is curious that nine of the ten grievous bodily harm charges are listed as a Class 3 crime, but one is listed as a Serious Class 2 crime. Chock is also charged on nine counts of leaving the site of a collision with serious injuries, including felony class 3, and on charges of wrongful escape from law enforcement, a class 5 crime.
If found guilty of the previously accused offenses, Chock faces decades of imprisonment under Arizona’s verdict laws, which could essentially mean life imprisonment for this 35-year-old man.
The case began when hundreds of cyclists, some from across the country, wanted to compete in an 11-category race involving men and women of all ages. The race was to start at Show Low and go over Linden, then to Taylor and back to Show Low for a total of 58 miles. Last year’s race was canceled due to the pandemic.
But around 7:25 a.m. that morning, for reasons still unknown, Chock is reported to have driven a Ford Super Duty pick-up truck into a crowd of 40 to 50 cyclists in front of the Horne Collision Center. Witnesses reported that the driver appeared to have done this willfully. Chock then reportedly hit a power pole, escaped from the scene and was apparently shot and killed by police officers through the truck’s driver’s side window. The truck came to a halt on a cul-de-sac on Oliver Street on a fence behind the Native Grill restaurant.
Show Low residents reported a temporary blackout later that day. Around 1:30 p.m. that afternoon, the Arizona Public Service confirmed the outage and promised to restore power by 4:39 p.m. The power was back on shortly after 3 p.m., according to a Show Low resident. It is not confirmed that the failure was caused by the truck colliding with the mast.
A total of seven people, including Chock, were hospitalized; six in Arizona and one in New Mexico. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) is handling the investigation, and DPS media specialist Bart Graves told the Independent that he believes six of the most seriously injured were still in hospital as of Wednesday. Chock is in Coconino County Jail in Flagstaff. According to Meg Miller of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, he was inducted there after we went to press on Friday, July 2nd.
It is not known why he is not housed in the Navajo County Jail. It could be that the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office is not conducting the investigation (DPS), or Chock’s gunshot wound or wounds require medical observation available in Flagstaff, or maybe Chock has been taken away from Show Low and Holbrook for his own safety . Whatever the reason, he’s being held there on a $ 500,000 bond.
Regarding previous convictions, the Maricopa County Superior Court records state that a Shawn Michael Chock, who is the same age as the suspect in the cycling incident, filed a serious complaint in that court on November 10, 2010 (Crime) DUI pleaded guilty. It is said to have been his third DUI offense.
There’s still no new trial date for Chock.
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