Chandler's fatal narcotics operation at a south Phoenix home Wednesday was a drug bust gone sour, a deal that resulted in death, a confrontation over bales of marijuana worth up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, Phoenix police said.

The shootout that felled a Chandler detective and two suspects may have started after the targets of the investigation resorted to robbery, turning the tables on three Chandler criminal-investigations unit members, said Phoenix police Sgt. Steve Martos.

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Slain officer was Gilbert father of 2

"They (the suspects) have not admitted that is what they were doing but that is what we are looking at," he said.

Chandler police Detective Carlos Ledesma, 34, a Gilbert husband and father of two, was slain in the exchange of gunfire. Two other Chandler officers were injured; one is in critical but stable condition and the other has been treated and released from St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. Their names have not been released so as not to jeopardize their roles as undercover agents, Chandler Police Chief Sherry Kiyler said.

"Carlos Ledesma gave his life last night for his community," Kiyler said at a news conference Thursday. "The events of last night are a grim reminder of challenges faced by the law-enforcement community."

Altogether, there are eight suspects, aged 25 to 40. Two suspects were killed, one has been hospitalized and five have been arrested on charges ranging from murder to possession of marijuana with the intent to sell.

The five in custody were identified as Thadika Singleton, 38, John Webber, 37, Doarnell Jackson, 35, Jerry Wayne Cockhearn, 25, and Eldridge Gittens, 34. None was charged with being in the country illegally.

The bales of marijuana would be worth between tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands on the street, Martos said. He said that the undercover Chandler police were carrying cash to purchase the drugs.

Whether the police were carrying cash and how much is in dispute, as Chandler Sgt. Joe Favazzo said it is "inaccurate that the officers were carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars."

It all started at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in a neighborhood south of Lindo Park in Phoenix, where community leaders and police have grappled for years with drug-related violence. The undercover officers and suspects met at a residence in the 2300 block of West Maldonado Road.

Favazzo said it is common for criminal investigations to spread from a city into other jurisdictions. The narcotics investigation, which Favazzo said involved a "large quantity of marijuana," began in Chandler, and Phoenix had been notified of the operation.

The undercover officers, who according to reports were not wearing vests, were posing as drug buyers, Phoenix police said.

When the deal soured, the criminal suspects shot first, Martos said. The undercover officers returned fire, killing two. Martos said more criminal suspects descended on the scene. Another was shot and injured.

Favazzo said that working undercover is highly dangerous as the officers are playing a role. "Everyone's senses are heightened," he said. "They are in an uncontrollable situation that they can't control as if they were in uniform."

At Chandler Police Department at 250 E. Chicago St., mourning was apparent in the form of flowers and lit candles laid at the foot of a statue of a police officer.

Employees inside were choked up, some tearing. They are grieving the death of one of their own, who died trying to protect the public.

The city of Chandler has also canceled an All-America City event scheduled for today.

Republic reporters Nathan Gonzalez and Edythe Jensen contributed to this article.