Original Article Officer's wife says he beat her Emily Bittner The Arizona Republic Dec. 30, 2004 12:00 AM Phoenix Detective Billy Soza's wife told investigators he has been beating her for the past 20 years and that he wanted to kill her. Pamela Soza, 44, shot the 25-year police veteran four times Monday when the assaults were at their worst, according to Maricopa County Superior Court documents. She told investigators that she thought she had no other choice after he held her captive in their bedroom, put his service weapon in her mouth three times and stepped on one of her breasts, where a lump was surgically removed earlier that day. Pamela Soza told investigators that her husband warned her that if she called the police or told anyone about the abuse, he would kill her and track down the rest of her family and kill them, according to documents. Billy Soza became enraged after his wife came out of the surgery that removed the lump, police said. He was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of kidnapping after being released from a Phoenix hospital Tuesday. He is being held at a Maricopa County jail on $500,000 bond. According to his personnel records, in 1998 he earned an award from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and another national award as Officer of the Year. He also received several Police Department medals for valor and lifesaving. Supervisors gave him generally favorable reviews, but he received two written reprimands, one for being disrespectful to a supervisor and another for detaining a drunken-driving suspect while off-duty.