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Delich, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia years before Officer Erik Hite, 43, was killed, will spend the next 91.5 years in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State Hospital. If, during that time, the doctors find he is no longer seriously mentally ill he will be transferred to the state prison to start serving a life term, with the possibility of release after 25 years.

Delich also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for shooting Pima County Sheriff's Deputy Tory Schwartz. His 10.5- to 21-year sentence on that charge will be served concurrently.

He pleaded guilty except insane to two counts of discharging a firearm at a residential structure and seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Pima County Superior Court Judge Deborah Bernini will formally sentence Delich April 30.

Had Delich gone to trial next month and been convicted, Deputy Pima County Attorneys Rick Unklesbay and Kellie Johnson planned to seek the death penalty.

Delich is accused of opening fire on the homes of two neighbors on June 1, 2008, then leading authorities on a 20-mile chase through the city and up Catalina Highway.

Hite was shot in the head during the chase and died the next day. Delich gave himself up an hour after the shooting spree began.

The attorneys on the case told Bernini they agreed to resolve the case with a plea agreement because doctors disagreed as to whether Delich was psychotic throughout the entire incident.

Defense attorneys Stanton Bloom and Harley Kurlander were particularly worried jurors may have a hard time accepting Delich was insane once they learned he told doctors he knew what he'd done to Hite was wrong.

Delich told ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ police detectives he and a porn star were in "mind communication" with each other when he suddenly got mental images of her being tortured. Around the same time, she indicated she no longer would post anything on her social-networking page. He became convinced his neighbors were involved in her torture, Delich said.

He already was suspicious of his neighbors because they had moved in "out of the blue," Delich said.

"I thought I was on the chopping block. I said: 'Forget it, man. I'll just be proactive,' " Delich said.

Delich told detectives he shot at the police only so he could get away; he didn't intend to hurt anyone and he aimed for their engines. Delich also said he didn't know he'd hit anyone.

Immediately after the shooting at least six of Delich's former Sabino High School classmates reported they had been receiving bizarre and scary messages from him via MySpace.

Some messages spoke of re-creating the Holocaust, others asked if they were ready to spontaneously combust.

Delich was indicted June 12, 2008, on one count of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of drive-by shooting, two counts of discharging a firearm at a residential structure and one count of fleeing from law enforcement.

While death penalty cases routinely take 18 months to resolve, Delich's case was delayed because of his mental status. Defense attorneys were initially unable to work on the case while five doctors met with Delich to determine if he was competent to stand trial.

Doctors testified Delich gave them a long list of dubious things he believes, including:

• He can and has resurrected people from the dead, including Hite.

• He has the ability to set people on fire by spontaneous combustion.

• Everyone in the courtroom is an actor. They are putting on a play for the benefit of the public. And once the play or trial is over, he'll be released no matter the outcome.

• He has the ability to control lightning.

• Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is helping him.

The doctors who examined Delich agreed he's mentally ill, but they split as to just how mentally ill he is. Some believed he was incompetent when they evaluated him. Others believed he was competent and faking the extent of his symptoms.

Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo ruled Delich was mentally ill but competent in September 2009. The judge reversed his decision in April 2010 and sent Delich to be treated at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State Hospital after listening to the testimony of a sixth doctor and reading a new report written by one of the other doctors.

Leonardo deemed Delich competent to stand trial again in January 2011.

The case was also hampered by the fact Delich has had three sets of attorneys. His first set of public defenders were replaced because Delich came to believe they were trying to control him with black magic. The second set was replaced because Delich became angry they wanted him to plead guilty to the indictment in exchange for a natural life sentence.

It was then that Delich's parents hired Bloom. Since death penalty cases require two defense attorneys, Leonardo appointed Kurlander as co-counsel.

At that time, Bloom said he hoped to pursue a "guilty except insane" defense and Delich and his parents were OK with that.

Incompetent people are unable to assist their attorneys in their defense and don't understand the charges they face or the roles played by everyone in the criminal justice system. Insane people don't know the difference between right or wrong.

The case was reassigned to Bernini earlier this year, who did not allow cameras in the proceeding.

Hite's widow, Nohemy Hite, attended Friday's hearing, along with ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor and several of other law enforcement officers.

Hite was a four-year veteran of the department and a 21-year veteran of the Air Force. At the time of his death, his daughter was not yet 1 year old. He was also survived by a grown son who was serving in the military.

Number of cases

Criminal defendants who have pleaded guilty except insane in Pima County Superior Court:

FY 2006/2007 8

FY 2007/2008 2

FY 2008/2009 3

FY 2009/2010 3

FY 2010/2011 4

July 1, 2011 to Dec. 31, 2011 2

Total: 22

Source: Pima County Superior Court

Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com