While Tucson police continue their investigation of the Moon Smoke Shop and firefighter union hall robbery-homicides, court records this week reveal some developments in the probe.
Requests for search warrants earlier this month outlined developments in the case - from Nov. 8, when an informant first told an officer brothers David and Scott Nordstrom were involved in the union hall killings, to the seizure last Thursday of a 9mm pistol from the home of the brothers' father.
Those search warrant requests, and a catalog of items seized, have been filed this week in Superior Court.
On Nov. 8, the informant first linked the Nordstrom brothers to the fatal shootings of four people June 13 at the Tucson Firefighters Association Union Hall, 2265 E. Benson Highway.
Scott Nordstrom, 29, is jailed on six counts of first-degree murder. David Nordstrom, 27, faces two counts of first degree murder. They are in the Pima County Jail on $2 million bond.
Court records indicate that David Nordstrom told police he was with another person May 30 when a 9mm pistol was stolen from a car parked at Tucson Medical Center, 5301 E. Grant Road.
A police report from a victim claimed that a loaded 9mm Jennings pistol was stolen from his parked car at the hospital sometime between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.
That same evening, about six miles away, two people were gunned down at the Moon Smoke Shop, 120 W. Grant Road.
Smoke shop employee Tom Hardman, 28, and customer Clarence W. Odell III, 47, were slain in the robbery shortly after 6 p.m. Another employee survived being shot in the face.
Casings found at the scene suggest that a 9mm Jennings is one of the gun makes that could have been used, according to court records.
The same 9mm gun, police believe, was used in both the smoke shop and union hall slayings. Bullet casings from a .380-caliber weapon also were found at both sites.
Police have refused to speculate if one of the guns used in the killings is the same weapon as the 9mm pistol detectives seized Jan. 16 from the southside home of the Nordstroms' father and stepmother. The brand of the seized weapon is not identified in a list of items seized from the house near East Drexel Road and South Alvernon Way.
"We're not commenting on any of the evidence issues," said Lt. Tom McNally, who is in charge of the Tucson Police Department's violent crimes section. "There's no formal comment I can give. We're still trying to pursue all angles at this point."
According to court files, David Nordstrom lived at his father's home during the time of the killings. He told police that two guns were dumped in a lake or pond near Highway 83 between Arivaca and Nogales.
Detectives obtained a warrant to search the pond last week. A search for a 9mm handgun and .380-caliber weapon has been under way since Monday.
Meanwhile, court documents show that a 1962 Ford pickup truck, seized by police Jan. 14 matches the description of the white or light-blue vehicle witnesses described leaving the smoke shop after the shootings.
The truck is owned by Robert G. Jones, 27, who is in jail in Phoenix on $1.4 million bond on murder and robbery charges stemming from a killing in that city. He has not been charged in the Tucson case.
The records say that at some time the truck may have been painted "turquoise blue."
Police gathered a section of the truck's carpet, various papers belonging to Jones, tools and a pair of sunglasses.
Victims at the union hall were: Carol Lynn Noel, 50, Arthur Bell, 54; his wife, Judy Bell, 46; and Mary Beth Munn, 53.
Among items detectives have been searching for is Arthur Bell's wallet, which apparently was taken in the robbery.
Also seized from the father's home were: a dark blue extra-large short sleeved shirt, black, size 6 drawstring pants and a black holster and magazine for the 9mm gun found there.
Items seized at Scott Nordstrom's home in the 2900 block of West Hermans Road include: two photographs, black pants and a black sweatshirt with a hood, black sweat pants and a check register.
A blue GMC pickup truck parked at the trailer west of Tucson in the 2300 block of South Calle Hohokam where David Nordstrom most recently lived also was searched, records show. Photographs, fingerprints, fibers and blood samples were taken from the truck.
A hat, wallet, photographs and an assortment of papers were seized from David Nordstrom's trailer, records show.
Police continue to ask for the public's help in the case to establish a time line for the brothers' whereabouts during the time of the slayings, said Lt. McNally.
