A man jailed in the robbery-slaying of a Phoenix retiree has surfaced in the investigation of six Tucson killings, according to court records obtained yesterday.
Tucson police have seized Robert G. Jones' truck, an older-model white pickup truck similar to one seen leaving the Moon Smoke Shop after two people were shot to death May 30. Police would not comment when asked if Jones was a suspect.
In addition to pointing to another lead in the Tucson killings, a search warrant affidavit also revealed why police have said the Moon Smoke Shop and Tucson Firefighters Union Hall slayings are related.
Ballistics tests confirmed that shell casings from a semi-automatic handgun found at both murder scenes came from the same weapon. Another semi-automatic weapon likely was used in both killings, according to the document.
Jones, 27, was arrested Aug. 24 after leading police on a 70-mile chase at speeds up to 130 mph through Phoenix, Tempe and Paradise Valley.
Jones is being held without bond in the Aug. 23 murder of Richard Roels, 58, a retired newspaper advertising manager described by police as the victim of a "burglary that went bad." Charges in a 33-count indictment against him include first-degree murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and burglary.
Jones lived with David M. Nordstrom during the time of the Tucson slayings, according to a search warrant request filed by Tucson police on Jan. 12.
Police sought permission to search Jones' 1962 white Ford pickup truck for evidence relating to the murders of two people at the smoke shop and the slayings of four people two weeks later at the Tucson Firefighters Union Hall.
Detectives searched the truck Jan. 13 at the Police Department's impound lot, seizing sections of carpeting, tools, paint samples and papers belonging to Jones.
On Friday, police accused David Nordstrom, 27, and his brother, Scott D. Nordstrom, 29, in the smoke shop killings. Scott Nordstrom also was charged with four more counts of first-degree murder in the union hall shootings.
Both brothers remain in the Pima County Jail on $2 million bond. They declined requests for interviews yesterday.
"We're not commenting on that," Tucson police Lt. Tom McNally said when asked yesterday about other suspects in the Tucson shootings.
"Any potential leads are being investigated at this point, including any additional possible suspects," McNally said. "Each day we get additional leads and information. . . . This is going to be a long-term investigation."
Investigators have released few details about the suspects or what led to their arrests. But McNally said they agreed not to seal the search warrant for Jones' truck, though he would not explain why.
Tucson police Sgt. Eugene Mejia said police didn't seal the warrant because it would have been too time-consuming.
"We want to spend our time trying to gather information, follow up on informational leads, and collect physical evidence as we locate it rather than spend it in court trying to fight the media over access," Mejia said.
According to the search warrant request, a confidential informant told police on Nov. 8 that he suspected brothers Scott and David Nordstrom in the union hall murders. The informant said the brothers matched the composite drawings of the gunmen and had discussed robbing the fire hall, according to the document.
The brothers grew up in Tucson and their mother, Cynthia M. Wasserburger, had tended bar at the union hall for about a decade before she was fired.
On Dec. 23, an 88-CRIME caller said Jones committed the union hall murders. The anonymous caller reported that Jones, who was jailed in Phoenix, had told the caller that he committed the murders, the warrant stated.
Police later determined that Jones had been living and working with David Nordstrom at the time of the murders, the warrant said.
Four people were found shot to death at the union hall, 2264 E. Benson Highway, at about 9:30 p.m. on June 13. Killed were bartender Carol Lynn Noel, 50; and customers Arthur "Taco" Bell, 54; his wife, Judy Bell, 46; and Maribeth Munn, 53. A union hall manager estimated $850 had been taken.
Three people were shot in a robbery at the Moon Smoke Shop, 120 W. Grant Road. Killed were customer Clarence Odell III, 47, and employee Thomas Hardman, 26. A 34-year-old employee, shot in the face and arm, survived.
Two employees who escaped described the gunmen as white men, 25 to 35 years old, 5-foot-11 to 6 feet tall. One had a large build and wore a black cowboy hat and sunglasses. The other was slender with slicked, straight hair.
One of the witnesses described a truck that sped away from the area after the shooting as an older 1960s or 1970s light blue pickup.
Jones was one of two men arrested in the slaying of Roels, who was apparently killed after he interrupted a burglary at his Phoenix home. Jones and Stephen Coats, 35, of Scottsdale, were arrested after trying to escape from police in stolen cars in the 130 mph chase.
Scott Nordstrom also nearly lost his life last summer, about a week after the union hall killings.
Both brothers were stabbed during a June 21 fight at an apartment complex at 4200 E. Benson Highway, according to a Pima County Sheriff's Department report obtained yesterday.
Scott Nordstrom was stabbed in the stomach and spent more than a month in intensive care, the report said.
The man arrested in the stabbing, Wally L. Godfrey Jr., 27, claimed he acted in self defense and was acquitted, Pima County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Michael O'Connor said yesterday.
McNally said police had considered many scenarios that would have taken the suspects of the Moon Smoke Shop and union hall slayings off the streets.
"We were looking at a number of different possibilities when the homicides initially surfaced and shortly after that - one being that the possible suspects may have left town or been transient through Tucson," McNally said.
Instead of hindering the investigation, he said, "I think it was only to our benefit that the suspects in this crime . . . would have been incapacitated in some manner. . . . They didn't have the opportunity to commit further offenses."
Deputies who went to Kino Community Hospital, where two men had arrived with "numerous stab wounds," initially found the Nordstrom brothers uncooperative, the police report aid.
Scott Nordstrom later told deputies that he and his brother had stopped at Quick Mart, 4280 E. Benson Highway, near Columbus Boulevard and honked when they saw a cousin and her boyfriend in a truck with another man.
They got angry, however, when the cousin's boyfriend made an obscene gesture. The boyfriend, identified as Philip Melillo, later told deputies that he hadn't recognized the brothers when they honked.
The Nordstrom brothers, who were driving a light blue pickup, followed the other truck into Lakewood Townhomes, 4200 E. Benson Highway, and parked near the office, the report said.
David Nordstrom jumped out and went to the back of the other truck, while Scott Nordstrom went to the driver's side and swung at the driver, who was later identified as Godfrey. In turn, Scott Nordstrom said he was "stuck" twice in the stomach.
Scott Nordstrom told detectives at the time: "We didn't have no weapons, man. They went too far. There was no need to try and kill me."
Arizona Daily Star reporters Shaun McKinnon, Alexa Haussler and Hipolito Corella contributed to this story.
