A grand jury heard testimony yesterday against a Phoenix inmate suspected in six Tucson killings last year, sources said.
The panel is expected to decide whether to indict Robert Jones as soon as tomorrow on murder charges in the Moon Smoke Shop and Firefighters' Union Hall slayings, according to sources close to the investigation.
Christopher Bell, whose parents were killed at the union hall, said he's glad the long-anticipated grand jury proceeding is under way.
"I want everyone that was involved in this whole ordeal put behind bars."
Deputy County Attorney David White declined to confirm whether the grand jury heard a case against Jones yesterday. He said Jones, 27, has not been indicted.
Police have called Jones a suspect in the cases for several months.
But the prosecutor did not pursue formal charges until he secured the testimony of David Nordstrom, who agreed last week to take the stand against Jones and his brother, Scott Nordstrom, as part of a plea deal.
Police arrested David Nordstrom, 27, and Scott Nordstrom, 29, in January, and a Pima County grand jury indicted both on six counts of murder.
David Nordstrom told police Scott Nordstrom and Robert Jones killed two people at the smoke shop May 30, 1996, and four at the union hall two weeks later, court records state.
Scott Nordstrom is scheduled to stand trial Aug. 12.
David Nordstrom pleaded guilty to armed robbery in the smoke shop case and a judge dismissed the union hall counts because of a lack of evidence. He faces five years in prison.
Jones is in jail in Phoenix, awaiting trial in a separate murder case - the death of a Phoenix retiree.
On Aug. 24, 1996, Phoenix police arrested him after Richard Roels, 58, a retired newspaper advertising manager, was slain in a botched burglary in his home. Phoenix police also arrested Stephen Coats, 35, of Scottsdale.
Jones is being held in lieu of a $1.4 million bond, facing murder and robbery charges stemming from the Phoenix killing.
David Nordstrom said he met Robert Jones in prison in Douglas and introduced him to his brother in April 1996 - a month before the Tucson killings began, court records state.
Court documents indicate David Nordstrom told police he was with Jones, who he called a close friend, May 30 when they stole a 9 mm pistol from a car parked at Tucson Medical Center, 5301 E. Grant Road.
That same evening, a smoke shop customer, Clarence Odell III, 47, and an employee, Thomas Hardman, 26, were killed at the business, 120 W. Grant Road. A 34-year-old employee, shot in the face and the arm, survived.
Casings found at the scene suggest a 9 mm gun, similar to the one stolen, could have been used, court records state.
Nordstrom also told investigators Jones came to his house June 13 and told him he had just robbed the union hall, 2264 E. Benson Highway, and killed several people, court documents state.
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 was stolen.
After David Nordstrom came forward, police learned Jones was living and working with David Nordstrom at the time of the Tucson slayings, court records state.
Investigators determined Jones fit a description given to police by the survivor in the smoke shop shootings. However, his hair appeared to be naturally red and the victim described the men as having dark hair.
When Phoenix police arrested Jones in the Phoenix slaying, they found a bottle of dark hair dye, records state.
On Jan. 14, Tucson police seized a 1962 Ford pickup truck, owned by Jones, that matched the description of a vehicle witnesses described leaving the smoke shop after the shootings.
Detectives also seized letters and photos from Jones' Phoenix jail cell. Police searched his cell for documents tying him to the Nordstrom brothers and the killings, court documents show.
