Detectives investigating two brutal robbery-homicides in which six people were killed spent months pursuing thousands of leads provided by the community before they focused on two local brothers.
Yesterday, following the arrests of Scott D. Nordstrom, 29, and his brother, David M. Nordstrom, 27, police again appealed to the public for help.
"We want to stress to the public that it is necessary to continue to call in tips or any information on these suspects or acquaintances that may result in further charges or could be of great assistance in solidifying the case," said Sgt. Eugene Mejia, spokesman for the Tucson Police Department.
"It is not over. Our investigation is continuing. That is why we are requesting additional information from the public, now that we've named two suspects as being involved in both crimes," Mejia said.
Anyone with information can call 88-CRIME and remain anonymous, or 911 and an officer will be dispatched to take a report. A source credited an 88-CRIME tip and other information for leading police to the brothers.
"They're going to continue to follow up on leads that are developed as a result of the suspects being named," Mejia said. "We expect people to come forward with new information," he said, as detectives continued yesterday to work to "detail their movements, their acquaintances, and any other crimes they may have been involved in."
Police allege the brothers shot and killed two people and critically wounded a third May 30 at the Moon Smoke Shop. Two weeks later, police allege, Scott Nordstrom shot to death four people at the Tucson Firefighters Association Union Hall where the Nordstroms' mother once tended bar.
Arrested Thursday, the brothers remained jailed yesterday, each in lieu of a $2 million bond. They declined interview requests.
Scott Nordstrom is charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. David Nordstrom is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
As murder suspects, they are housed in the jail's most secure areas, and as co-defendants the brothers are kept separated, Pima County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Michael O'Connor said yesterday.
"The brothers will never be together. They won't be housed together, they won't dine together," O'Connor said.
The six shooting deaths made up one-third of the city's 21 unsolved homicides from last year. Police said they consider a case solved once an arrest is made. In 1996, there were 47 slaying deaths in Tucson city limits.
"There was a lot of hard work in this case, and our homicide unit is considered one of the best in the nation," Mejia said.
David Nordstrom, of the 2300 block of South Calle Hohokam, was arrested at a trailer near South Kinney and West Bopp roads in the Tucson Mountains. Authorities found his brother, of the 2900 block of West Hermans Road, at a trailer on the southwest side.
Yesterday was business as usual at the Moon Smoke Shop, 120 W. Grant Road, where last year employee Tom Lewis Hardman, 28, and customer Clarence Wilson Odell III, 47, were killed. An unidentified 35-year-old employee was shot in the face and arm, and two other employees escaped unharmed.
Police said two robbers walked into the shop in the Grantstone Shopping Center, took about $200 from cash registers and opened fire without provocation before fleeing in a light-blue pickup truck. A source has said police recovered a blue pickup truck.
Employees declined to comment yesterday, but several customers said last year's tragedy still remained in the back of their minds.
"I had some fear (about safety)," Michael Hurwitz, who buys cigarettes three times a week at the shop, said yesterday. "It was always at the back of my mind."
Hurwitz said he moved to Tucson from New York City six years ago. "Here, crime is more frightening. . . . Everything is in the neighborhood, so it's more immediate."
Preston Saurman, who visits the shop once a week, was pleased with the arrests.
"There's a little bit of justice. But there's plenty of crime around. That's the scary part," Saurman said.
Another regular, who declined to give his name, said he felt apprehensive about visiting the shop on Tucson's near northside after the shootings.
Even with an off-duty police officer patrolling the storefront, he said he parked by the Grantstone supermarket - on the other side of the shopping complex - then walked to the shop.
Because of the arrests, he parked three spaces away from the Moon Smoke Shop's door yesterday. "Hopefully it's done, and there isn't going to be anymore bloodshed," he said.
An employee at Colortyme, two doors down from the smoke shop, said he was working when the shootings occurred and was relieved to hear about the arrests.
The employee, who refused to be identified, said he was concerned about his own safety the first month after the incident, but increased security in the area calmed him.
None of the half-dozen people inside the dark union hall, 2264 E. Benson Highway, late yesterday afternoon wanted to be interviewed.
The union hall, which has since installed security cameras, closed briefly after the shootings - except for a gathering held there following the funeral of Judy and Arthur "Taco" Bell, two of the three customers killed there. Also killed were Maribeth Munn, 53, and bartender Carol Lynn Noel, 50.
About $850 was taken in the union hall robbery, including $400 in a change bag kept in a back liquor storage area.
Star reporter John F. Rawlinson contributed to this story.
