You can visit http://tpdinternet.tucsonaz.gov/Wanted/ and see if you recognize any of the criminals in the photos. If you do, the tucson police ask that you contact them at 88-CRIME (24 hrs), or The Tucson Police Department at (520) 791-4455 (8am -5pm). It’s a great way to help your local police, and make your community a safer place. Get involved!!

The Special Operations Section of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department will continue to conduct Sobriety Checkpoints during each weekend in May. These Sobriety Checkpoint operations are funded with grant money provided by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. The locations of the Sobriety Checkpoints will vary throughout the county to include large arterial roadways and smaller residential and business streets.

The Sobriety Checkpoint locations are selected based upon their proximity to bars, restaurants, and other establishments serving alcohol. Their locations are determined by statistical data that reflects a trend toward a propensity for alcohol related incidents to include collisions and arrests. The Sobriety Checkpoint locations will provide a high degree of visibility to the motoring public.  Site determination will also be based upon roadway configuration, adequate sight distances, traffic volume, lighting, and motorist safety.  A primary consideration for all Sobriety Checkpoints is the safety of motorists and law enforcement officers. 

The Sobriety Checkpoints are clearly marked and motorists are greeted and given an informational brochure on the Sobriety Checkpoint program.

Sobriety Checkpoints tend to reduce the number of drinking drivers on the road and do not necessarily produce a dramatic increase in DUI arrests.  The major value of Sobriety Checkpoints is their educational and deterrent influence on the motoring public.  The Sobriety Checkpoints are established to ensure the public’s safety and to reduce the number of alcohol-impaired drivers on the roadways in Pima County.

Members of the media are welcome to view the Sobriety Checkpoints and take photographs. 

In addition to the Sobriety Checkpoints, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department will continue to field DUI saturation patrols on a regular basis.  These patrols stop motorists who are suspected of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

On May 15, 2007, at 9:23 p.m., 911 operators received multiple calls regarding multiple shots being heard in the area of 22nd St. and Park Ave. Operations Division South officers responded and found the victim, Victor M. Rivera, 28 with gunshot trauma, in the parking lot of the convenience store. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Gang detectives are investigating this incident as the victim and others known to be involved potentially have gang affiliations. Detectives are actively searching for subjects that left the scene prior to police arrival. Those people or anyone else who has information are encouraged to call 911 or 88-CRIME. Contact:  Officer Dallas Wilson

On May 5, 2007 at 11:28 a.m. officers from Tucson Operations Division Midtown responded to the Wells Fargo Bank at 5310 E. Grant Rd. for a report of an armed robbery. Officers obtained a description of the suspect and the vehicle he was driving when he left the bank. A short time later officers located the vehicle, which had earlier been reported stolen, abandoned in the 4800 block of E. Pima St. in Tucson. An officer responding to the area observed a subject matching the description of the suspect riding a bicycle eastbound on Pima approaching Columbus. As officers attempted to stop that subject, he pointed a gun at them and fled into the neighborhood on foot. Officers established a perimeter to contain the suspect.

During the containment the suspect ambushed officers from a concealed position wounding three of them with gunfire. Officers maintained containment of the suspect after he ambushed them. Officer Sean Berube, a 7-year veteran, and Lt. Jeffrey Coleman, a 25-year veteran, confronted the suspect in the back yard of a residence in the 4300 block of E. Pima. Officer Berube shot the suspect and he was taken into custody.

Sergeant Gary K. Downard, an 8-year veteran, suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound and Officer Michael Dowling, a 9-year veteran, was struck by gunfire in his ballistic vest. Both officers were transported to University Medical Center for treatment. Officer Jeffrey Baker, a 6-year veteran, suffered a superficial wound from a ricochet or bullet fragment and was treated at the scene.

The suspect was transported to Tucson’s University Medical Center for treatment of the gunshot wound and remains there under police guard. Homicide detectives responded to the scene to conduct the investigation and are attempting to identify the suspect.

HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION
2500 Block of N. Geronimo Ave.

On April 29, 2007, at 12:27 a.m., Operations Division Midtown officers responded to the 2500 block of N. Geronimo for shots heard. When officers arrived, they found an unidentified, deceased adult male with gunshot trauma in a private drive. Homicide detectives are continuing the investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to call 911 or 88-CRIME.