Suspects arrested after burglary call leads to officer-involved shooting near Florence

FLORENCE (3TV/CBS 5) — Two men are in custody, more than 24 hours after a burglary investigation led to an officer-involved shooting just south of Florence.

Around 8 a.m. Thursday, Pinal County sheriff’s deputies arrested 61-year-old Michael Anthony and 33-year-old Phillip Rice in a remote area several miles south of the burglary call. Anthony was suffering from two gunshots.

It all began around 3 a.m. on Wednesday when deputies responding to a burglary in progress arrived to find a car trying to leave the scene. Investigators say the car rammed two patrol vehicles, which led to a deputy opening fire on the suspects.

Two men ran from the car and deputies later identified Anthony and Rice as persons of interest. Various law enforcement agencies searched for the two men throughout Wednesday and into the next morning.

At about 6:40 a.m., Thursday, PCSO dispatch reportedly received a call from Rice, who said they were ready to turn themselves in. They were later located and taken into custody.

In addition to Anthony’s wounds, a gunshot injury to the shoulder and a graze to the face, deputies say both men were dehydrated, exhausted and covered in cholla cactus. They’ll be checked and treated by medical staff before being taken to the Pinal County jail.

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